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1994-03-03
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==================
What is Shareware?
==================
Shareware provides you with the ultimate money back guarantee.
With most money back guarantees you pay for the product and then
try it out and see whether or not you like it. If you don't like
what you see or find that it doesn't do what you need, you return
it and at some point (perhaps long in the future) you receive a
refund. However, most software companies won't even let you try
their products! In order to qualify for a refund, the diskette
envelope must have an unbroken seal.
Shareware is different. With Shareware you get to try it for a
limited time, without spending a penny. If you decide not to
continue using it, you simply discard it. No paperwork, phone
calls, correspondence, or waiting required. Shareware software
producers feel it is the best way to distribute their products.
You are able to try it on your own system(s), in your own special
work environment, with no sales people looking over your
shoulder.
After trying a Shareware product and deciding to continue to use
it, only then do you pay for it. Not only that, but Shareware is
traditionally much less expensive simply because you are paying
for the software, not the marketing expenses that make up
majority of the cost of most software. A one-time, one page ad
in most popular computer publications can easily cost $20,000!
Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. Most
Shareware is produced by accomplished programmers. However,
there is good and bad Shareware, just as there is good and bad
retail software. The primary difference between Shareware and
retail software is that with Shareware you know if it's good or
bad, and whether it fills your specific needs, before paying for
it. Your registration of Shareware products provides the
incentive for software authors to upgrade and improve their
products and to continue to produce new, high-quality software
for the Shareware market.
There is another significant advantage to Shareware - it allows
many independent authors and small companies to make software
available who would otherwise be discouraged from proceeding
because of the expenses that it takes to launch a traditional
retail software product. There are many programs on the market
today which would never have become available without the
Shareware marketing method. Please show your support for
Shareware by registering those programs you actually use and by
passing them on to others.
SHARE.DOC (Description of Shareware) Page 1 of 4
=====================
For More Information:
=====================
If you would like to learn more about Shareware, several sources
of additional information are described below.
from Dvorak*Osborne/McGraw-Hill
Dr. File Finder's Guide to Shareware
------------------------------------
by Mike Callahan and Nick Anis
Foreword by John C. Dvorak
"[Mike's] book distills thousands of hours of his online search
for the crown jewels of Shareware into one usable guide. As such,
it may be the most valuable computer book you'll ever buy."
--Jack Rickard, Publisher, Boardwatch Magazine
"No one combines Dr. File Finder's comprehensive knowledge of the
Shareware genre with his good taste in software. This is sure to
be the definitive place to look for insight and program
information."
--Barry Simon, PC Magazine Columnist, and Coauthor of
Stackey, Batutil, and Ctrlalt
"GREAT! Every PC user will find something of value within these
pages. This book will save you a bundle."
--Alfred Glossbrenner
"If I were going to buy only one computer book, this would be
it."
--Tom Scott, Publisher, Telecomputing Magazine
About the Authors:
Mike Callahan, recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of Shareware
Magazine, is a recognized expert on Shareware.
Nick Anis is the coauthor of several Dvorak*Osborn best-sellers,
including Glossbrenner's Complete Hard Disk Handbook, Dvorak's
Guide to PC Telecommunications, and Dvorak's Guide to Desktop
Telecommunications.
$39.95, ISBN: 0-07-881646-7, 950 pp. 7 3/8 X 9 1/4
Available at many book and computer stores
or call toll free 1-800-227-0900 (M-F, 8:30 - 4:30 PST)
SHARE.DOC (Description of Shareware) Page 2 of 4
Shareware: "Try Before You Buy" Software
----------------------------------------
by Rob Rosenberger
In this book, shareware author and writer Rob Rosenberger delves
into the very heart of Shareware, telling you who developed the
concept and why.
You'll learn why these programs:
* undercut the price of retail software
* helped bring down the use of copy protection schemes
* receive numerous editorial and reader survey awards
* generate more sales than retail software in some cases
* are falsely accused of spreading computer "viruses".
Rob shows you where you can find good Shareware. You'll learn to
beware of companies that make money by abusing the "try before
you buy" concept. And you'll discover where Shareware is heading
in the near future.
"A lot of good books devote just one or two chapters to the
concept and history of Shareware. I'm pleased to say there is
finally a reference book on the subject."
--Jim Button, cofounder of the Shareware concept
"It's filled with accurate information for anyone who wants to
learn about one of the most significant sources of high-
quality software."
--Edward Mendelson, contributing editor, PC Magazine
Here's where to obtain a copy:
Shareware: "Try Before You Buy" Software
by Rob Rosenberger
Third Edition
Only $6.95!
Paradise Publishing Phone: (800) 233-2451
3111 S. Valley View Blvd.
Suite B-105
Las Vegas, NV 89102
U.S.A.
SHARE.DOC (Description of Shareware) Page 3 of 4
Shareware Magazine
------------------
This is a publication devoted to serving both Shareware users and
authors. In the past it has been primarily devoted to the PC-SIG,
but with the appointment of Mike Callahan as Editor-in-Chief it
promises to get broader, bigger, and better.
"Shareware Magazine is going to get BIGGER and BETTER and its
going to contain quite a few new sections on topics that are of
interest to readers. There will be program reviews, a business
software section, reviews of Shareware for the Mac, and MUCH
MORE."
-- Mike Callahan (Dr. File Finder), New Editor-in-Chief of
Shareware Magazine.
Shareware Magazine Subscriptions
1030 D E. Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale, California 94086
Order number (800) 245-6717
Annual subscription rate is $20. For a limited time, available
for $14.95 by giving Dr. File Finder's Special Order Number 2263.
SHARE.DOC (Description of Shareware) Page 4 of 4