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Shareware is a marketing method for computer software. Shareware software is typically obtained free of charge, often by downloading from the Internet or on magazine cover-disks. A user tries out the program, and thus shareware has also been known as "try before you buy". A shareware program is accompanied by a request for payment, and the software's distribution license often requires such a payment. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Look up marketing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Computer program. ...

History

The term shareware was coined by Bob Wallace to describe his word processor PC-Write in the mid-1980s. Wallace came up with the name that stuck, but many consider the "fathers" of the shareware marketing model to be Jim "Button" Knopf and Andrew Fluegelman. Their coordinated offerings of PC-File (database) and PC-Talk (telecommunications) programs, respectively, pre-dated PC-Write by several months. Button referred to his distribution method as "user supported software," and Fluegelman called his freeware. Among the three of them, they clearly established shareware as a viable software marketing method. Via the shareware model, PC-File and PC-Talk made Button and Fluegelman millionaires^{[citation needed]}. Bob Wallace (died 2003), was the ninth Microsoft employee, inventor of the term shareware, creator of the word processing program PC-Write, founder of the software company Quicksoft and a online drug guru who devoted much time and money into the research of psychedelic drugs. ... A word processor (also more formally known as a document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of viewable or printed material. ... PC-Write was one of the first three widely popular software products sold via the marketing method that became known as shareware. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Look up marketing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jim Knopf, aka Jim Button (Knopf meaning button in German), is considered by many to be one of the fathers of shareware (so named by fellow software veteran Peter Norton). ... Andrew Cardoza Fluegelman (born November 27, 1943--presumably died July 6, 1985) was a programmer and attorney best known as the inventor of what is now known as the shareware business model for software marketing. ... ĔPC-File was a flat file database computer application most often run on DOS. It was one of the first of three widely popular software products sold via the marketing method that became known as shareware. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... PC-Talk was one of the first three widely popular software products sold via the marketing method that became known as shareware. ... A modem (from modulate and demodulate) is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. ...

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, shareware software was widely distributed over bulletin board systems globally. Popular software, especially games and compression utilities, was rapidly passed along between bulletin boards. The market naturally pruned off less popular software for many reasons, including the cost of local and long distance modem telephone calls, the time required to transfer files, the network effect of popular software being more readily available, and the isolation of individual bulletin board systems. Coupled with the difficulty to create software at the time, the market seemed composed only of high quality, popular works. Ward Christensen and the computer that ran one of the first public Bulletin Board Systems, CBBS from BBS: The Documentary “BBS” redirects here. ... A network effect is a characteristic that causes a good or service to have a value to a potential customer which depends on the number of other customers who own the good or are users of the service. ...

As more individuals discovered the Internet during the early and mid 1990s, most of these barriers were reduced. Niche market software was more accessible. Less popular and obscure software could be distributed from anywhere on the Internet rather than waiting to be passed through countless isolated systems. Without the limiting factors in place, the perceived number of software titles exploded while the perceived quality plummeted.

During the late 1990s, search engines and common distribution hubs further smashed the distribution barriers. A new generation of software creation tools --Rapid Application Development -- enabled the creation of major titles in less time and allowed inexperienced programmers to create minor software titles in a matter of hours. Hundreds of shareware titles were created every month. It became difficult to prune the low quality shareware software from the gems. Rapid application development (RAD), is a software development process developed initially by James Martin in the 1980s. ...

During the early 2000s, and with the increasing popularity of Web 2.0, new ways to filter the software became available. Major download sites began to rank titles based on quality, feedback, and downloads. Popular software was sorted to the top of the list. Blogs and online forums further enabled individuals to spread news about titles they like. With this additional pruning in place, consumers can more easily find quality shareware products while still preserving the ability to find obscure and niche software. Web 2. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Implementations

Free/open source software and shareware are similar in that they can be obtained and used without monetary cost. Usually shareware differs from free/open source software in that requests of voluntary shareware fees are made, often within the program itself, and in that source code for shareware programs is generally not available in a form that would allow others to extend the program. Notwithstanding that tradition, some free/open source software authors ask for voluntary donations, although there is no requirement to do so. Free/open source software is usually compatible with the strict ASP shareware guidelines. Clockwise from top: The logo of the GNU Project (the GNU head), the Linux kernel mascot Tux the Penguin, and the FreeBSD daemon Free software is a term coined by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation[1] to refer to software that can be used, studied, and modified without... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... Source code (commonly just source or code) is any series of statements written in some human-readable computer programming language. ...

Sometimes, paying the fee and obtaining a password results in access to expanded features, documentation, or support. In some cases, unpaid use of the software is limited in time or in features — in which case the software is vernacularly called crippleware. Some shareware items require no payment; just an email address, so that the supplier can use this address for their own purposes. Crippleware is a form of shareware. ...

Shareware is available on all major computer platforms including Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Titles cover a very wide range of categories including: business, software development, education, home, multimedia, design, drivers, games, and utilities. Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... The Macintosh 128K, the first Macintosh computer The iMac, a current Mac computer Mac (formerly Macintosh) is a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. ... Linux (IPA pronunciation: ) is a Unix-like computer operating system. ...

There is a technical difference between shareware and demos. Up to the early 1990s, shareware could easily be upgraded to the full version by adding the other episodes or full portion of the game; this would leave the existing shareware files intact. Demos are different in that they are self-contained programs which are not upgradable to the full version. A good example is the Descent shareware versus the Descent II demo; players were able to retain their saved games on the former but not the latter. Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game which spawned two direct sequels (Descent II and Descent³). The Descent name was also used for an unrelated space simulator released by Volition, Inc. ...

Logistics

With shareware, a developer bypasses the normal distribution channel eliminating the normal retail middleman markups and directly markets to the end user. The end result is a reduced end-user price compared to the retail channel. Users of shareware are encouraged to copy and distribute unregistered versions of the software to friends, coworkers and other acquaintances. The hope is that users will find the program useful or entertaining and will pay to register to be able to access all the features.

Pertaining more towards shareware games, large online distribution channels known as "portals", such as Yahoo! Games and RealArcade, have emerged in recent years. These portals act as media of distribution for the shareware developers, providing an audience base for a percentage of the software's sale. Yahoo! Inc. ...

Many shareware developers are individual computer programmers who take a risk on a product — entrepreneurs. Online shareware author communities, like the newsgroup alt.comp.shareware.authors, are often used by software seekers to post their novel software ideas for potential implementation. A newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. ...

Distribution

In the early 1990s, shareware distribution was a popular method of publishing games for smaller developers, including then-fledgling companies such as Apogee Software (now also operating under the brand 3D Realms), Epic Megagames (now Epic Games), and id Software. It gave consumers the chance to try a portion of the game, usually restricted to the game's complete first section or episode, before purchasing the rest of the adventure. Racks of games on single 5 1/4 inch and later 3.5 inch floppy disks were common in retail stores. However, bulletin board systems (BBS) and computer expositions such as Software Creations BBS were the primary distributors of all early low-cost software. Free software from a BBS was the motive force for consumers to purchase a computer equipped with a modem, so as to acquire software at no cost. At PC expositions, extant today, shareware was essentially free; the cost only covered the disk and minimal packaging. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Corporate logo of Apogee Software Apogee Software, Ltd. ... 3D Realms is the name of a computer game publisher and developer based in Garland, Texas. ... Epic Games, also known as Epic and formerly as Epic MegaGames, is a computer game development company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. ... id Software (IPA: officially, though originally ) is an American computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... A bulletin board system or BBS is a computer system running software that allows users to dial into the system over a phone line and, using a terminal program, perform functions such as downloading software and data, uploading data, reading news, and exchanging messages with other users. ... Company logo. ...

As the increasing size of games in the mid-1990s made them impractical to fit on floppies, and retail publishers and developers began to earnestly mimic the practice, shareware games were replaced by shorter demos that were either distributed free on CDs with gaming magazines or as free downloads over the Internet, in some cases becoming exclusive content for specific websites. Demo disc released with a magazine. ... Uploading and downloading are related terms used to describe the transfer of electronic data between two computers or similar systems. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML...

Criticism

In the 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s shareware was considered to be a concept for independent software writers to receive a degree of remuneration for their labor. However, after that the shareware model began to degrade as the term was used by commercial startups offering (sometimes substandard) commercial software and labeling non-functional or limited demo versions (known as crippleware) as shareware. As a result, the term shareware has shown reduced usage in recent years, replaced by either demo for trial software or freeware for full editions. However, it must be stressed that the shareware software is not always so limited in function, as demonstrated with programs such as The Bat!, GetRight, WinZip, and WinRAR, as well as the game examples mentioned below. (1) Startup (or start-up, aka System startup) refers to the short period of time, or system state a computer is in, immediately after switching it on. ... Crippleware is a form of shareware. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Bat! is an e-mail client for the Microsoft Windows operating system. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... WinZip Computing Inc. ... WinRAR is a shareware file archiver and data compression utility by Eugene Roshal. ...

One problem is the lack of a solid definition. Some shareware groups have limited definitions, allowing 'nag screens' that remind the user to buy the software and refuse to accept any software with limited functionality, such as demos, trial use, or crippled software [1]. Most groups, such as the Association of Shareware Professionals, the Software Industry Professionals group and PC Shareware clearly state their position that any software marketed as 'try before you buy' is shareware.

Another issue is the high percentage of commercial failures. A very large percentage of shareware projects are commercial failures. Sites like Tucows, download.com, and Handango list hundreds of thousands of shareware projects, many of which are abandoned. One sampling found 76% of listed projects were abandoned or no longer being updated. Active projects commonly see less than 0.5% of downloaders convert to paying customers [2], and projects may be victims of software piracy, dropping sales by half again [3]. It is argued that many projects could become successful by following some simple business practices^{[citation needed]}. Tucows (originally an acronym for The Ultimate Collection of Winsock Software that has long since been dropped) was formed in Flint, Michigan, USA in 1993. ... Download. ... Handango is a software distributor for mobile devices including Palm Powered Handhelds, Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Smartphones, Symbian OS Devices, BlackBerry Devices, and various java-based cell phones. ...

Derivatives

Other types of software distribution, taking the suffix "-ware" have followed shareware's lead. They usually do not require the user to make a specific payment to the author. Rather, they sometimes require the user to send the author a postcard (postcardware) or donate to a specific charity (careware); for more examples see otherware. Postcardware, also called just cardware, is a style of software distribution similar to shareware, distributed by the author on the condition that users send the author a postcard. ... Careware (or charityware, helpware or goodware.) is software distributed in a way that benefits a charity. ... Otherware is a collective term referring to software that is not distributed as freeware, shareware or commercial software. ...

Industry standards and technologies

There are several widely accepted standards and technologies that are used in the development and promotion of shareware.

• PAD (Portable Application Description) is used to standardize shareware application descriptions. PAD file is an XML document that describes a shareware or freeware product according to the PAD specification.
• DynamicPAD extends the Portable Application Description (PAD) standard by allowing shareware vendors to provide customized PAD XML files to each download site or any other PAD-enabled resource. DynamicPAD is a set of server-side PHP scripts distributed under a GPL license and a freeware DynamicPAD builder for 32-bit Windows.
• Code signing is a technology that is used by Shareware developers to digitally sign their products. The recent versions of Microsoft Operating Systems, namely Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista, show a warning when the user installs a unsigned software.

Portable Application Description is a machine-readable document format designed by the Association of Shareware Professionals. ... Digitally signing executables proves the identity of the software vendor and guarantees that the code has not been altered or corrupted since it was created and signed External Links Code signing systems ... Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. ...

Developer organizations

• ASP Association of Shareware Professionals. Since 1987, the ASP has been dedicated to the advancement of shareware, also known as "try before you buy" software, as an alternative to conventional retail software. Today the ASP is a vibrant organization with over a thousand members around the world working together to improve their businesses and making it easier for computer users to find quality software at reasonable prices.
• Software Industry Professionals Provides information and support to members of the software industry and helps people learn to use software. Members include independent software vendors, academics, and commercial software publishers.
• ISDEF Independent Software Developers Forum
• ESC Educational Software Cooperative. A non-profit corporation bringing together developers, publishers, distributors and users of educational software.
• SWRUS an informal Russian shareware developers community
• AISIP Association of Independent Software Industry Professionals
• OISV Organization of Independent Software Vendors

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See also

• Glossary of legal terms in technology
• Barriers to entry

The legal aspects of technology involve many different terms. ... In economics and especially in the theory of competition, barriers to entry are obstacles in the path of a firm which wants to enter a given market. ...

References

• "Exposing the Myth of "Shareware""
• Slashdot: "Do You Pay for Your Shareware?"

External links

• Shareware at the Open Directory Project

The Open Directory Project (ODP), also known as dmoz (from , its original domain name), is a multilingual open content directory of World Wide Web links owned by Netscape that is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors. ...

More links

http://www.sharewaredown.com