Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!utoday!greenber
From: greenber@utoday.UUCP (Ross M. Greenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: Paying for Shareware (Was: Re: v09i070: newsclip 1.1...)
Message-ID: <1218@utoday.UUCP>
Date: 9 Feb 90 03:19:38 GMT
References: <13986@s.ms.uky.edu> <33975@watmath.waterloo.edu> <2488@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP>
Reply-To: greenber@utoday.UUCP (Ross M. Greenberg)
Organization: UNIX Today!, Manhasset, NY
Lines: 39


 brucet@ksi.cpsc.UCalgary.CA (Bruce Thompson) writes:
>
>The final thing I'd like to say is that I'm not convinced that a
>commercial venture in the manner you describe is viable. No amount of
>legislation can make a non-viable business viable. I do feel that a
>commercial venture along the lines of distributing the software and
>providing tangible benefits for paying the requested fee MAY be viable.
>I honestly don't know. I would recommend reading Robert A. Heinlein's
>story "Life-Line", particularly the scene in court. Life-Line can be
>found in "The Past Through Tomorrow", an anthology published by The
>Berkley Publishing Group. ISBN: 0-425-06458-1.
>

Bruce, if you'll note, I've not commented on the legality of The Shareware
Argument.  That's because I, too, have read that passage in Life-Line.

That's why I take the approach that I do:  I offer a good product, at a 
cheap price and offer incentives for people to register the code.  Enough
people do so that I'm living pretty confortably on my income from the code.
(Heck, you didn't think that journalism paid well, now, did you? :-) )

I'm trying to combat the attitudes that I see threatening shareware in the
future.  To be unbiased, for me, would be impossible - the more honest and
ethical people are, the money I make.  But, I see too many software authors,
not making decent money on the shareware scene, drop out of producing quality
code at a cheap price.

That's the problem with people not registering. It might not affect folks now,
but it will, one day, and for the rest of their lives.  "Suppose they gave
a shareware party and nobody was left..."?



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Ross M. Greenberg, Technology Editor, UNIX Today!   greenber@utoday.UUCP
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