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From: enzerinkp@topaz.ucq.edu.au
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: Shareware is junk
Message-ID: <1991May1.123515.7068@topaz.ucq.edu.au>
Date: 3 May 91 01:35:35 GMT
Article-I.D.: topaz.1991May1.123515.7068
References: <1991Apr30.174659.9082@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu>
Organization: University College of Central Queensland, Australia
Lines: 43

In article <1991Apr30.174659.9082@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu>, rubin@visual1.jhuapl.edu (Don Rubin) writes:
> FLAME ON
> 
> ...disgusted with so called commercial quality programs
> that annoy you to death BEFORE you even get to use them.
> ...If I like what the program 
> does, I'll pay the registration fee to get the full
> functionallity, manual, support, updates, etc.

I find this to be very hard to swallow, so I'll take the time to followup.
It has been my experience, and indeed probably the experience of many shareware
authors that very few copies of their programs are ever registered. This is
independant of how good they are.

For that matter you only need to look at the amount of piracy of normal
commercial software to see that a lot of people have no scruples.

I personally favour a fully working program that has lots of "register me"
boxes and startup delaysto encourage users to register. You have the
opportunity to use a fully functional product with some annoying
messages. Much better than a crippled program.

> Try to act like a professional programmer before you
> act like a bean counter and you will end up with a better
> product and more people will want to pay for it.
> 
> FLAME OFF

A professional programmer is by some definition a person who makes a living
from their programming skills. Producing top quality and complete
applications with annoying messages seems to be the best way to produce
shareware programs, and that's how I'm structuring my future releases.
(Maybe this time more people will register!)

Regards Peter

PS. fffffffff-fff-f-f-f-f Your flame's been blown out.

-- 
                  Hello, Hello. What's going on here then?
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Peter Enzerink                                       ENZERINKP@TOPAZ.UCQ.EDU.AU
University College of Central Queensland