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From: everett@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Everett Kaser)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Painter's Apprentice (paint program for EGA)
Message-ID: <101000034@hpcvlx.HP.COM>
Date: 20 Jan 89 17:41:53 GMT
References: <2027@sunrise.ece.clarkson.edu>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, OR, USA
Lines: 61

First off, I congratulate you on the work you've done and your willingness to
share it at a reasonable price.  I have a great distaste for software packages
that cost $10-$15 dollars to manufacture and are sold for $200 and up.  Yes,
I know there's development cost, but, nonetheless, it leaves a bad taste.  A
couple of your comments, Russ, also leave a bad taste, however.  First, a few
BRIEF excerpts...

/ nelson@sunrise.ece.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) writes...
> Painter's Apprentice is now available for FTP and downloading from grape.  
> Copying:
> 
> Painter's Apprentice is a freely copyable program.  It is not a demo,
> nor is it crippleware.  However, it is only part of a larger package.
            ^^^^^^^^^^^
> The larger package contains fonts, images, file format documentation
> and driver sources and is not freely copyable.
> Philosophy:
> 		Painter's Apprentice is NOT BEGGARWARE
                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Most so-called shareware packages are really beggarware.  "If you use this
> software, please pay me for it."  When you send in your money, all you get
> is thanks.  Well, Painter's Apprentice is NOT BEGGARWARE.  We have two
> schemes for getting paid for Painter's Apprentice without begging, the
> REST of the package, and the NEXT version, both outlined below.

> What you get if you pay:

> convert.com	An image file format converter.
> printipa.com	An offline .IPA file printer (no mouse required).
> driver sources	Source for all the printer drivers.
> loader sources	Source for all the image file loaders.
> file formats	Documentation on the .FNT, .IPA, .MAC, and .SCR file formats.

> A large number of fonts.
> A large number of images.

I realize, that in the strictest sense, your package is not "crippleware", or
"BEGGARWARE", but the fact that the package is not complete, and that to get
the complete package a user must send in his $35 is walking a pretty thin
line on the border of "crippleware" and "BEGGARWARE"!

Please, don't misunderstand me, I see nothing wrong with people being paid
for the work they do, whether it's called shareware, beggarware, or nextware.
But I do find your stance to border on the hypocritical to, in one breath,
cast daggers at authors of "crippleware" and "BEGGARWARE", and in the next
breath to offer the rest of your package if people will send you money.
(Maybe we should call it "Hostageware"?)

I don't want you to feel this is a flame, because it's not intended as that,
but rather as an observation of something that I see far too much of on the
net (amongst other places), and it's a request for a little more understand-
ing and tolerance of others. (yea, yea, I know, I'm bordering on intolerance
here, myself :->...that's why I wanted you to understand this isn't a flame,
but more of an oberservation, offered up for your perusal, to digest or discard
as you wish.)

Anyway, I've pretty much run down...

Everett Kaser
!hplabs!hp-pcd!everett
everett%hpcvlx@hplabs.hp.com