🚀 go-pugleaf

Bryan Nystrom wrote:
> 
> badger@phylo.life.uiuc.edu (Jonathan Badger) wrote:
> 
> >The real question is *why* people insist on writing shareware.
> 
> To cut costs to the end user, increase profit margins to the
> developer, and to allow the computing community to "try-before-you
> buy".

Thank you.

> >Shareware is a blight upon humanity
> 
> No, people who misuse shareware or pirate software because they
> believe that all software should be "free" are the real "blight" to
> the rest of us.

Agree!

> >by definition, shareware authors are amateur programers who program for fun, and not
> >to put food on their table.

By _whose_ definition?  Why couldn't MS-Word be released as a shareware?  Against the
law, there is an industry wide agreement on software standards?  I'll bet it's probably
just coz Microsoft finds it doesn't make economic sense.

> >Why not write freeware yourself? Are you really saying
> >that your Mahjongg program was harder to write than emacs?
> >If not, why do you demand money for it while no money is required for emacs?

Another way to look at it is, how much for the programming and how much for the
idea, the design.  Look at logos, say NeXT's logo (by Frog Design I think).
How much effort went into it, and how would you value it?

> >You have already discovered that shareware isn't very profitable

Coz lots of people dont pay the fees (though sometimes, the transac cost might
be more than the fee ;-)  But seriously, as long as the shareware has been
well thoughtout, done, I prefer it than to pay for the bells and whistles that
are sitting on my HD and RAM, which either I use only once in a while or
otherwise get in my way...kinda reminds me of a small office with a big nice
meeting room.  It's either wasted on the rent or people just try to have mtgs
coz it's there (who's working?)

my 2 ¢
Eugene Tan