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From: jal3495@ritcv.UUCP (Jeff Leyser)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: enforcement of Sharewar
Message-ID: <204@ritcv.UUCP>
Date: 12 Feb 88 19:36:47 GMT
References: <8055@g.ms.uky.edu> <174@piring.cwi.nl> <39450@sun.uucp> <121@ritcv.UUCP> <1012@sask.UUCP>
Reply-To: jal3495@ritcv.UUCP (Jeff Leyser)
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Lines: 45

In post <1012@sask.UUCP>, long@sask.UUCP (Warren Long) says:
!
!This is a complaint about the 'protection' used by one author for
!his shareware product:
!
!> Perhaps the worst I have ever seen of this type is a program, DS, a
!> progam to help move, delete, copy, etc. files on hard disks. While the
!> program was quite good, and the request for money was small ($15), the
!> program had a 10 second delay at the beginning and the end of a run.
!> Instructions for disabling this pause were available only after you
!> coughed up the $15.  This, to me, is a type of blackmail.  Since the
!> use of this program is to be a quick utility that works faster and
!> easier than DOS commands, a delay like this was way out of line.
!> Needless to say, I don't use the program, and would never suggest that
!> anyone else do.
!
!I am impressed with the method used, and am surprised at the audacity
!of the above user.  The author has found a very clever way of 
!protecting his SHAREWARE product, which allows a user to sample the
!product, yet requires an end-user to pay IF and only IF he/she intends
!to use it regularly.

First off, _I_ am the above user.  Please be sure to attribute your
quotes....

My complaint with this program is, I think, made clear.  This util. is
designed to be a quicker and easier way of managing a hard disk.  Placing
pauses of that length (10 seconds is LONG time), defeats that purpose.  It's
much like marketing a shareware wordprocesor, but you can only use the
'save' function if you send me $20 bucks.

Let's comapare this to the plea for money used by ZCOMM, a shareware
telecommunications package.  This program beeps and displays a
copyright/send-money mesage at startup.  I need to hit a key before I can
use the program.  Upon payment, I can get this feature disabled.  This
not-sp-gentle reminder does not interfer with the actual use of the program,
it simply beats me over the head.  I will be registering my copy of ZCOMM
shortly (when Unca' Sam sends me my refund.  Can you say broke :^), and in
the meantime I can use the program to its full extent (well, almost.
Registering gets you some bells+whistles too).
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| Jeff Leyser, professional student  {uunet!hnsurg3,sun!mandrill}!ncoast!jeffl |
| "Dick, your FIRED!" - RoboCop        OR  {backbone}!rochester!ritcv!jal3495  |
|         I can't have opinions.  I didn't pay my opinion fee this term.       |
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