Home | Forums | Article Search | Subscribe & Shop | Contact Us | Log Out Dialogue Box Email This Print This View My Personal Library Loading Zone October 2002 • Vol.2 Issue 10 Page(s) 67 in print issue Add To My Personal Library Dialogue Box Don't Kill The Shareware Industry When he's not distributing technology tidbits through email (at Lockergnome.com), Chris is compiling new ebooks (for Gnometomes.com). Chris is also the host for "Call for Help" on TechTV (callforhelp.tv). Oh, and he thinks he wants to do a radio show again. Of course, Chris also wants to be a fire truck. He'll see which one happens first. "Yeah, I'm calling you from my private jet at 30,000 feet over Switzerland. Have you finished working on my red Trans Am? No, not the black one—the red one. Well, drop it off at my summer house when you're finished." This is something you'll never ever hear the average shareware author say. Why? Because, contrary to popular belief, most of them aren't kazillionaires. They're not even millionaires. In the average year, they're lucky to earn as much as a fresh-from-college high school teacher. Those lucky enough to make that much face other obstacles along the way. These "basement developers" typically aren't marketing geniuses. They count on larger sites (like Tucows, WebAttack, or CNET's Download.com) for promotion. People seem to be dissuaded from downloading shareware with the "threat" of having to dish out a handful of hard-earned cash to register a program—especially if an alternative is free. That's economics. Still, skipping software based solely on its price tag (and not its feature set) is ill-advised. Looking for illegal workarounds is even worse. When you run cracks or use serial numbers, you're breaking the chain. You may think software piracy doesn't hurt large companies because "they must be making it up in volume." Just remember that every company has employees, and every company has a bottom line. The more you take from them, the less they can give back to you. Now, imagine how those smaller publishers feel when someone cheats them out of a registration. In most cases, a registration costs nothing more than a single night out with your family. If you like the software, pay up. Someone sent me a PDF via email the other day. It was a comprehensive guide to San Francisco's best stuff. I liked what I read, but I didn't think the document was free. My suspicion was confirmed; the ebook was ~$10. Without thinking too hard, I clicked the PayPal link and sent the author the requested payment. After all, that's how I'd want to be treated. Wouldn't you? Don't lie to yourself. And just because you see a banner or two on a Web site doesn't mean its owner is making money hand over fist with advertising. No. That market is completely dead for 99% of the Internet. Some shareware developers share the profits by offering affiliate programs to publishers (often referred to as ‘Cost Per Action' deals). Does it work? Sometimes, but not often enough. If everyone were honest, this column wouldn't have been written. Am I saying you should run out and buy everything you ever use? No. Nobody needs to own four programs that do the same thing. But don't keep thinking that the other guy is going to register the program that you really, really like to use. Don't think that most of these shareware developers are living high on the hog. Don't think that they understand how the market works. Most of these folks aren't businesspeople—they're just trying to keep a business alive. Some developers code out of passion, some out of necessity, but they all believe that people want and need to use their creations. And what if a particular program is not perfect? Should you give up and move on? Not always. I frequently download shareware that has tremendous potential. Instead of instantly searching for another solution, I'll send a brief (bullet pointed) note to the original author and suggest improvements. For the most part, I've never had my perspective challenged. You should already know that most programmers aren't artists, writers, or accountants. They're programmers, and they deserve our respect. Your mission—and you MUST accept it if you've read this far—is to register one of your favorite pieces of shareware today. Right now. Why have you waited this long to do it? Why should I have to remind you that someone performed a service so that you could have a more complete computing experience? This general disdain for anything that's not free is sickening, and if the trend doesn't reverse soon, we're going to see a lot of good people burn out and a lot of great resources dry up—seemingly overnight. Tell them you appreciate their work. What's that going to hurt? You can Dialogue with Chris at chris@cpumag.com. 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