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From: nraoaoc@nmt.edu (Daniel Briggs)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: A better reminder/cripple? (Was Re: Shareware is junk)
Message-ID: <1991May3.133447.21207@nmt.edu>
Date: 3 May 91 13:34:47 GMT
References: <1991Apr30.174659.9082@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu> <1991May01.022439.16596@osh3.OSHA.GOV> <1991May1.153211.21245@agate.berkeley.edu>
Reply-To: dbriggs@nrao.edu (Daniel Briggs)
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Lines: 24

After listening to all the "I hate crippleware" and "I hate
reminders", I wonder if we might not be able to put our heads
together, and come up with a scheme that would satisfy most people.
It seems pretty clear to me that either one of the above approaches
will alienate a substantial fraction of the author's buying public.

I'm just free associating here, but could we come up with a hybrid
approach that would work?  I'm thinking of a scheme where the user can
select which kind of annoyance they would like.  I can see the thing
being used as a crippleware editor with some sort of page limit, and
no nag screens.  When the user needs to edit something larger, he
throws a software switch, and it magically becomes nagware.  No
limits, but the user is reminded that the copy is unregistered, and he
really *should* do it.  No one gets caught by the "I have to edit N+1
pages by Monday" syndrome, the user gets reminded occasionally that
the product is unregistered, and he also isn't inundated by obnoxious
nag screens.  No, it's not perfect, but are there any gaping holes
that I have missed?  Can they be plugged?  Would the people who have
expressed extreme displeasure with one or the other of the mentioned
schemes be satisfied with a product that behaved like this?
-- 
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