🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <TOMS.92Aug18113427@pdx069.intel.com> toms@pdx069.intel.com (Tom Shott) writes:
>
>
>I disagree with your solution to the problem. The problem is there are too
>many shareware games for PCs. 
( stuff ... )
>If people couldn't write shareware for PCs, many would still program and
>give away software for free.  My understanding is most shareware never
>really makes any money but it does stiffle improvments.  It's imformation
>hoarding.

  You are correct that if you include all programs released as shareware 
for the PC, almost all of these programs make no money.  However, if
you eliminate about 80% of the programs which are obviously junk, then
the picture looks alot different.   There are many multi-million dollar
companies which do shareware.  These include Trius, McAffe, Form-Gen, Apogee,
and so on.  Then there are alot more people like me who aren't millionaires
but make enough money to live comfortably from shareware income.
  My point is that those 80% junky programs are stuff that no one would want
to improve on anyway.  Of the remaining 20% there are plenty of programs that
are doing quite well as is, and wouldn't necessarily become much better through
enhancements.
  Infact, I know of two very nice PC programs which included sources:  One
was FRACTINT, and another was SNARF.  As far as I know, no one attempted to
enhance either.
  It would be nice if everything in the world were free.  If I wrote programs
and gave them away for free, and I lived off food given to me by farmers for
free, and GM gave me cars for free.  However, this is not human nature.
  In reality, I would NOT write programs and distribute them with no payback.
I might write a few small programs to amuse myself, but would never spend
any time on trying to figure O]out what the people want.
  In the end, I think the PC users really benefit with a profit motive for
developing software.   The shareware game Wolfenstein 3D made $36000 in it's
first month, and I don't think that game nor anything like it would have been 
developed without a profit motive.

-- 
	Kevin Stokes
	Duke University Dept. of Physics	kds@phy.duke.edu
	Durham, N.C.      27706