🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <BAUMGART.91Jun25233314@esquire.esquire.dpw.com>, baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve Baumgarten) writes...
>In article <5354@ryn.mro4.dec.com> long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com, I wrote:
>>    That's right. If you didn't like it, though, you won't have wasted
>>    several hundred dollars. It's an inappropriate comparison. Movies
>>    are entertainment.  Software can be essential, and very hard to
>>    characterize.
>You're aiding my argument here, and the analogy is a valid one.
>Assume for a moment that we're talking about After Dark -- a non
>"essential" piece of software if there ever was one -- and assume for
>a moment that instead of $20 (or whatever it costs), that it costs $6
>this week (Berkeley Software's running a sale).  Now how's my analogy
>looking? 

 Fine. I would probably spend the $6 to give it a shot. I have bought software
 sight unseen, when it was a good deal. For example, I just bought the
 Taste/Ultrapaint bundle for $79. I didn't know Taste from a hole in the wall,
 but wanted Ultrapaint anyway, and the price warranted the risk.

 I'm thinking more of expensive, "productivity-oriented," software.

>If you feel you need more information about a product, there are 
>myriad sources available to you, from magazines to user groups, from

 Helpful, but not good enough. There is no substitute for hands-on use of a
 piece of software.

>MacConnection (and other mailorder houses) will let you return
>most software within 30 to 90 days if it doesn't meet your needs or if
>you are unhappy with it.

 This is WONDERFUL. It's why I patronize MacConnection almost exclusively, and
 I'm happy to say I haven't had to make use of the return policy very often.

>What more could you want?  How then can pirating software still be
>considered ethically correct (I'll put aside the legal argument for
>the moment)?

 Nothing, really. It (money-back guarantee) eliminates the standard excuse for
 software piracy. But it's probably inconvenient for mail-order houses like
 the 'connection to support those returns. It makes much more sense for the
 companies to make demos available through the Net, user groups, etc. This is
 how I decided I didn't like Nisus, thus saving the hassle of ordering it and
 then returning it.

 It would also be great if software companies took some responsibility in
 their licence agreements, instead of disclaiming everything! 

Richard C. Long | long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com            | Selfware: If you like
--------------- | ...!decwrl!mcntsh.enet.dec.com!long | this program, send
A First Edition | long%mcntsh.dec@decwrl.enet.dec.com | yourself five bucks!