Shareware
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Shareware is a marketing method for computer software in which the software can be obtained by a user, often by downloading from the Internet or on magazine cover-disks free of charge to try out a program before buying the full version of that program. If the "tryout" program is already the full version, it is available for a short amount of time, or it does not have updates, help, and other extras that buying the added programs has. 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.
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[edit] Definitions
The term shareware refers to commercial software that is copyrighted, but which may be copied for others for the purpose of their trying it out with the understanding that they will pay for it if they continue to use it. In contrast, retail software is a term used for commercial software which may not be copied for others, and public domain software refers to software which is not protected by copyright and may be copied and used without payment. Freeware generally refers to software that is copyrighted, but for which the author solicits no payment, even if the user continues to use it.
[edit] History
In 1982, Andrew Fluegelman created a program for the IBM PC called PC-Talk, a telecommunications program, he used the term freeware. About the same time, Jim "Button" Knopf released PC-File, a database program, calling it user-supported software[1]. Not much later, Bob Wallace produced PC-Write, a word processor, and called it shareware. Appearing in an episode of Horizon titled Psychedelic Science originally broadcast 5 April, 1998, Bob Wallace said the idea for shareware came to him "to some extent as a result of my psychedelic experience."[2]
In 1984, Softalk-PC magazine had a column, The Public Library, about such software. Public domain is a misnomer for shareware, and Freeware was trademarked by Fluegelman and could not be legally used by others, and User-Supported Software was too cumbersome. So columnist Nelson Ford held a contest to come up with a better name.
The most popular name submitted was Shareware, which was being used by Wallace. However, Wallace acknowledged that he got the term from an InfoWorld magazine column by that name in the 1970's, and that he considered the name to be generic,[citation needed] so its use became established over freeware and user-supported software. [3]
Fluegelman, Knopf, and Wallace clearly established shareware as a viable software marketing method. Via the shareware model, Button, Fluegelman and Wallace became millionaires.[4][5]
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, shareware software was widely distributed over bulletin board systems globally and on diskettes (and subsequently, CD-ROMs) by commercial shareware distributors who produced catalogs of up to thousands of public domain and shareware programs. One such distributor, Public Software Library (PSL), began an order-taking service for programmers who otherwise had no means of accepting credit card orders.
As Internet usage grew, users turned to downloading shareware programs without paying long-distance charges or disk fees, spelling the end of bulletin board systems and shareware disk distributors. In addition to shareware libraries online, the authors of programs had their own sites where the public could learn about their programs and download the latest versions, and even pay for the software online.
The Internet also made it easier to locate niche software, as well as the best and most popular general software. 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 pruning in place, consumers can more easily find quality shareware products while still preserving the ability to find obscure and niche software.
[edit] 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 Association of Shareware Professionals shareware guidelines.
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.
Shareware is available on all major computer platforms including Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Unix. Titles cover a very wide range of categories including: business, software development, education, home, multimedia, design, drivers, games, and utilities.
[edit] 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.
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.
[edit] 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 play the game before investing money in it, and gave them exposure that some products would be unable to get in the retail space.
With the Kingdom of Kroz series, Apogee introduced the "episodic" shareware model that became the most popular incentive for "registering" (or buying) the game. While the shareware game would be a truly complete game, there would be additional "episodes" of the game that were not shareware, and could only be legally obtained by paying for the shareware episode. In some cases these episodes were neatly integrated and would feel like a longer version of the game, and in other cases the later episode(s) would be stand-alone games.
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.
In the mid-1990s, the shareware market declined and within a few years had virtually disappeared as a means for distributing computer games. The reasons for this are various, but could be closely linked with the decline of garage coders. Shareware was often a great means for games that were unable to get traditional marketing and retail exposure to get noticed. However, as technology improved, independent games were less able to be competitive in a commercial market, and larger developers found it unnecessary to release extensive shareware episodes, instead offering more limited demos in their stead.
The important distinguishing feature between a shareware game and a game demo is that the shareware game is, at least in theory, a complete game. Where modern demos are often a single level or less, shareware games usually had many hours of play with a beginning, middle, and end. Shareware episodes most commonly offered 1/3 or 1/2 of the entire registered version, and many even offered the entire product as shareware with no additional content for registered users.
[edit] 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, shareware software is not always so limited in function, as demonstrated with programs such as The Bat!, GetRight, WinZip, and WinRAR, as well as various games.
Some shareware groups have liberal standards, allowing 'nag screens' that remind the user to buy the software, demonstration or "demo" versions and trialware. Some have refused to accept any software with limited functionality, including demos, trial use, or crippled software [6]. 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 projects that are either unsuccessful or just abandoned. 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 [7], and projects may be victims of software piracy, dropping sales by as much as half again [8]. It is argued that many projects could become successful by following some simple business practices[citation needed].
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 unsigned software.
[edit] 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. There are over 1500 members including 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
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Callahan, Michael E.. The History of Shareware. Paul's Picks. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ Horizon: Psychedelic science by Bill Eagles, video.google.ca (about 41 mins into video)
- ^ "History of Shareware". Association of Shareware Professionals
- ^ Bob Wallace Timeline
- ^ Article about Jim "Button" Knopf, from Dr. Dobbs Journal
- ^ "Exposing the Myth of "Shareware". www.sustworks.com
- ^ "Tips to Improve conversion". www.oisv.com
- ^ Slashdot: "Do You Pay for Your Shareware?"
[edit] External links
- Shareware at the Open Directory Project
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