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From: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicarious Oyster)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.misc
Subject: Re: Shareware is a HOAX Re: Another View on Shareware
Message-ID: <1488@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 8-May-87 09:43:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1488
Posted: Fri May  8 09:43:04 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 9-May-87 17:57:40 EDT
References: <18006@sun.uucp> <795@looking.UUCP>
Reply-To: oyster@unix.macc.wisc.edu.UUCP (Vicarious Oyster)
Organization: UW-Madison Academic Computer Center
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Xref: mnetor comp.sys.amiga:4617 comp.sys.ibm.pc:3848 comp.sys.misc:558

In article <795@looking.UUCP> @looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes:
>The conclusion -- Shareware is a hoax.  Only a very, very few make money
>from it, and their programs would probably have sold far more as
>commercial products.  (Has PC-Write gone commercial now?)
>It was a cute idea, but it just isn't real.

   Shareware as a money-making prospect may be a hoax.  Shareware as a way
to have a lot of people use your software, and have at least *some* chance
of having somebody express appreciation to you in a concrete way (i.e. $$$)
stills sounds like a good idea to me.  An example is Uniterm (for the ST);
it's a very good PD terminal emulator/communications program which many
ST users use.  If it had come with a shareware-type request for a few dollars
(like, $30), I would have paid already.  I've already considered trying to
drum up support for people contributing to a "color monitor for Simon"
fund, just to encourage the author to expand his support for the program
(and possibly others in the future).