Without a doubt, the best buy in computer software is Shareware. I can
think of no other type of software that gives you the benifits that purchasing
a piece of shareware does.
Many people think of shareware as small programs or utilities for your
computer written by 15 year old computer geeks. Or as programs that couldn't make it in the commercial market so they decided (in a last effort to sell it)
to release it as shareware. Sometimes this is true, but this is a minority.
Shareware authors are people from all walks of life. Some write programs
as their primary source of income others don't. Their reasons for writing
a program and releasing it as Shareware are varied. Some programs are the result of a desperate need for a utility to do a certian task, some are written
to replace commercial programs and others are written just because.
Releasing a program as Shareware is a great way to cut costs. By uploading
program to a source such as Software Creations BBS, an author can get their
program in circulation to thousands of potential customers by spending a very small ammount of capital. This in turn creates a lower price for you when you
register a Shareware program. Spending less on advertising, shipping and
packaging tends to make Shareware a very affordable alternative to Commercial
programs.
Quality is a major concern for many people. Shareware is great in this
aspect in that you are allowed to try before you buy and see if you like the
quality of the program. Being able to use the program before you purchase it
is a very big bonus! This allows you not only to determine the quality of the
program but to look at other features and see if the program "Fits" for you.
This is one area whare I feel that Shareware outclasses commercial programs.
It would be nice to be able to walk into the Cybertech software store at the
local mall and grab the latest copy of PC Tools, take it home and try it out
for 60 days before deciding to buy it. There have been many times that I have
picked out what looked like the best game ever written for the PC compatable,
got home popped it into the old computer only to find out it was a porogram
from hell. Major bummer after spending $30-$50 bucks!
Some Shareware programs are simple and were not written to outclass what
Microsoft puts out. Normally these do what they are designed to do and don't
ask for much in the way opf a registration fee. Other programs are written in
such a way as to Blow the doors off the Offices at Microsoft! Take a look at
some of the games that Apogee has released. Duke Nukem and Castle Wolfenstein
are as good or better than many commercial games that I have played. The nice
part about the Shareware programs is that I don't have to pay before I decide
to keep them, and when I do it usually ends up being less than their commercial
counterparts.
If I haven't convinced you that Shareware is a good deal, let me throw one
more little thing your way. Support. While not all Shareware authors are
great at this, most all the Shareware I have registered has had better support
than the commercial programs. I have received more help and extras from
Shareware authors than anyone at Sierra has given me and I have bought more
games from Sierra games than any Shareware author. Take the program that
allows you to read this magazine, Readroom (or READER.COM if you read it
offline), when I registered it Michael Gibbs offered me extra services related
to this program for FREE! That is something you see very rarely with
commercial programs. BTW, Thanks!
All in all Shareware is an inexpensive route to achive the same thing as
commercial programs achieve. By registering the Shareware programs you are
helping to insure that more of the good quality programs that you use will
continue to be produced and supported by their authors. The nice thing is
that all your favorite Shareware programs are only a phone call away.
