ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ NEWSLETTER UPDATE ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Do you have a press release, an idea, a disk, a shareware catalog or a need for a program which relates to the shareware software industry? Shareware authors and vendors would like your information! Send press releases, product announcements and shareware for possible inclusion within this package. Submit text in ASCII on disk so we can import it directly into this package. Please note that older material from previous SMS newsletters, containing HIGHLY valuable marketing information, has been moved to the SMS archives disk which is available from SMS. Consult the GOODIES section of SMS for information on ordering this archived newsletter material (SMS catalog disk number 202.) -------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter: Summer 1992 Edition -------------------------------------------------------------- Life is interesting. No sooner is the current edition of SMS published then my desk begins to overflow with new submissions for the next quarterly update of this package. A number of fundamental changes are taking place as the shareware industry matures. The bottom line remains: If a shareware author or disk vendor wants to prosper in this industry it CAN be done since the information flow, public interest in computers and need for quality software continues to grow. However, as with most businesses it takes time and work. Shareware is not a type of software. It's not even a type of product distribution. It is fundamentally a type of marketing. Steve Hudgik of Homecraft (H.C.P. Services, Inc.) has kindly shared recent shareware survey information with SMS which is FUNDAMENTAL READING. I have added a substantial amount of information following Steve's survey on matters of legislation currently affecting shareware, new programs, new vendors and emerging marketing methods, so let me first offer an indirect apology - there is so much information in this issue of SMS it may be a bit overwhelming! That's the bad news. The good news is that this quantity and quality of information attests to the fact that shareware is evolving. Let's begin.... =========== SHAREWARE BUSINESS INDEX (SBI) ============== ______________ APRIL 1992 rev. 1.03 ______________ copyright 1992 by H.C.P. Services, Inc. May 30, 1992 The SBI is an index showing the relative health of the shareware industry by showing the change in registration sales for shareware programs. It is based on a starting point of 100 points for January 1989. Thus the SBI shows how much shareware registrations have increased (or decreased) since January 1989. The following index is based on the registration sales reported as of May 30, 1992. Twelve authors are now participating in the SBI. We would welcome your participation. Calculation Method A month to month percentage change in sales is calculated for each author. An average percentage change is then calculated for each month and that percentage is applied to the previous month's SBI index. This method does not show the overall size of the shareware industry, but will accurately reflect its growth and cycles. The index starts in January 1989 with an arbitrary setting of 100. Background This index is being calculated for the first time in May 1992 and includes sales figures through April 1992. As additional authors submit join the SBI and send us their sales information (we need ** you ** to send us your sales monthly history) the SBI will improve and be more accurate and useful in determining sales trends based on the time of year and longer term trends based on general economic conditions. In addition, as more authors contribute their sales information the SBI may be able to include sales trends by market and/or product type. Contributing Sales Information To make the SBI a better refection of the true shareware economy we would appreciate it if ** you ** could submit your monthly sales information. This information will be kept strictly confidential. Information can be submitted in either of two forms: monthly sales (non-US authors, your information can be in any currency) or the percentage change in sales each month. The percentage change is calculated using the following formula: - April 1992 rev 1.03 Page - 2 ((TMS-LMS)/LMS) X 100 TMS - This month's sales LMS - Last Month's Sales Please send your information to: Steve Hudgik, HomeCraft Software, P.O. Box 974, Tualatin, OR 97062. It may also be sent via Compuserve to ID 71450,254. We will add other methods of submitting information as they are needed. ***** PLEASE HELP ***** The more authors who contribute their sales information, the more accurate and useful the SBI will be. Please help, as large a participation as possible is needed. Your contribution of your sales information is important! ******* ________SBI Compiled As Of May 30, 1992________ Jan. 1989 100.00 May 1990 80.57 Aug 1991 279.48 March 78.76 June 84.75 Sept 252.88 April 81.69 July 100.05 Oct 189.37 May 74.62 Aug 106.38 Nov 251.62 June 1989 78.38 Sept 1990 93.01 Dec 1991 253.27 July 77.81 Oct 107.31 Jan 1992 270.83 Aug 83.80 Nov 134.93 Feb 305.36 Sept 79.77 Dec 166.32 March 247.05 Oct 1989 77.48 Jan 1991 170.99 April '92 168.73 Nov 110.38 Feb 144.87 May ----- Dec 112.18 March 153.63 June ----- Jan 1990 132.63 April '91 121.93 July 1992 ----- Feb 96.84 May 124.60 Aug ----- March 86.63 June 140.44 Sept ----- April 77.60 July 292.63 Oct ----- The SBI is copyrighted by H.C.P. Services, Inc. It may be freely reprinted in magazines, newspapers or newsletters and shared among individuals and on BBSs. The SBI may not sold or distributed (on a profit or non-profit basis) by any individual, company or organization without written permission of H.C.P. services, Inc. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please feel free to send them to me at the address given earlier. Your feedback is very welcome. STEVE HUDGIK Shareware Author HomeCraft Software (End of survey and report, next begins the larger author survey, also copyrighted to Steve Hudgik and H.C.P. Services.) <> << Article for SMS summarizing the results >> << of the 1992 Shareware Author Survey >> The following summary is copyright 1992 by Steven C. Hudgik. The results of the 1992 Shareware Author survey may not be reprinted without written permission. CAN YOU STILL MAKE MONEY AS A SHAREWARE AUTHOR? SUMMARY OF STEVE HUDGIK'S 1992 SHAREWARE AUTHOR SURVEY In 1991 and early 1992 we saw the continuation of a long term recession in the U.S. However many people were saying the shareware industry was recession proof because the number of shareware programs keep increasing at a faster and faster rate. The number of disk vendors also increased dramatically. The theory was that users needed to find low cost alternatives to expensive retail programs and would be flocking to shareware as the best way to get quality software at a reasonable price. So how is the shareware industry doing? Did the recession affect shareware authors? Can you still make money as a shareware author? During February and March of 1992 I conducted my second comprehensive survey of shareware authors (the first was done at the end of 1990). The results showed that, yes, you can make money as a shareware author and, in fact, there are some spectacular success stories. The shareware industry is alive, healthy and growing! In reading this summary of the 1992 survey please keep in mind that to be successful you need to listen to your market - listen to what your users and potential users are saying. The information compiled here can serve as a general guideline or be used to give you a starting point. Do not take the information summarized here as representing hard and fast rules. Keep in mind that the #1 rule for success in shareware is that you need to produce a quality program that people find useful. If you're familiar with the Rush Linbaugh school of business then you know that the entire course in how to be successful in business is: "Make something that people want to buy." He's right! If you are not doing that it does not matter what registration incentives you offer; how you price your product; or how many disk vendors and BBSs you send it to. The 1992 survey not only looked at how well authors were doing financially, it attempted to quantify the things successful authors do that make them successful. What types of registration incentives do most authors offer? What is the average registration fee charged for different types of software? How are bug fixes handled? How is technical support handled? And what books and magazines do authors read to learn how to improve their business? The 1992 survey was mailed to 1400 shareware authors and responses were received from 153. This compares with 812 surveys mailed out in 1990 with 227 authors responding. The different response rates may be due to my having included postage paid return envelopes in 1990. Due to a limited budget I was not able to do that in 1992. This survey is funded soley with my person funds and I get no income from it. Thus the available funds do limit what can be done. A third survey is planned for late in 1993 and I am planning to include postage paid return envelopes. Please note that the numbers given in the tables summarizing the survey results may not always add up to what appears to be the correct number. Some authors were not always consistent in how they answered questions. Two of the 153 surveys are not include in the results summarized here because the answers on those surveys were so inconsistent that they made no sense. We have divided how the results are shown based on author annual sales. Assuming that the authors with the greater sales are "doing the right things" we can look at the differences between how the various groups of authors run their business. However, keep in mind that shareware is not like any other business. There are many shareware authors who are not trying to run a high dollar volume business. They enjoy writing software and, if they can make a few dollars from it, they are happy. This type of author is just as successful as the author who builds a $1,000,000 company. They are both doing what they enjoy and are happy with what they are doing. That's what's so great about shareware! You can run your business any way you want. AUTHOR GROUPS Here's how the responses are divided based on annual sales. I've included the figures for both the 1990 survey and I've also shown the percentage of authors who are currently ASP members: 1992 1990 ASP Group 1 - Over $50,000 in annual sales 19 20 74% Group 2 - $10,000 to $49,999 annual sales 30 32 50% Group 3 - $2,000 to $9,999 annual sales 32 85 56% Group 4 - $0 to $1,999 annual sales 54 63 26% Group 5 - did not report annual sales 18 27 39% As you can see the biggest drop in responses came from authors receiving $2,000 to $9,999 in registrations. The survey results, however, do not show any significant differences that would account for this. REGISTRATION PRICES The following chart summarizes the average registration fee charged for different categories of software. Comparing 1990 and 1992: overall there has been a slight drop in the average registration fee authors are charging. However, the change I found the most interesting is that there has been a significant increase in the number of programs targeted at the home user market. In 1990 there were 17 programs reported as being designed for the home market. In 1992 that had doubled to 34 programs. Here's a summary of the registration fees authors were charging in 1992: (Note: I am sorry but due to space limitations I can only provide a summary of the 1992 survey results, not all of the details. I will identify major differences between the 1990 and 1992 surveys, but there is not enough room to provide the 1990 survey results. I hope to release a shareware disk during the fall of 1992 that will provide the complete details of the 1992 survey. Areas where there was not a large enough response to provide reliable numbers are indicated by the letters NA). Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 # programs 50 65 65 88 39 Avg. Registration $55.53 $54.28 $35.58 $28.19 $37.62 Avg. # Registrations 6,678 777 195 47* NA Per Program #Years Since First Program 4.5 3.9 3.4 2.2 NA Was Released __Type Software__ Business $69.76 $117.10 $42.37 $41.58 $35.00 Utility $51.65 $31.69 $34.29 $24.94 $36.90 Games $22.50 $16.25 $20.00 $10.62 $25.00 Communications $151.00 $45.00 $45.00 $45.00 $17.87 Programming NA $30.49 $37.00 $31.67 $37.80 Word Proc. $83.39 $20.00 $30.80 $20.00 $39.00 Spreadsheet $64.90 NA NA NA NA Data Base $69.00 $31.00 $33.40 $24.82 $50.00 Graphics NA $38.75 NA $19.95 NA Educational $27.80 $17.67 $17.25 $19.19 $37.97 Home $38.74 $32.50 $27.71 $27.27 $11.95 Fonts $39.53 NA NA NA NA Clip Art NA $7.33 $29.95 NA NA Desktop Pub. NA NA NA NA NA Windows $59.95 $44.97 $18.67 $38.67 $20.00 It was interesting to me to note that in our 1990 survey of disk vendors one of the areas that was identified as having great potential was desktop publishing. The 1992 survey showed no significant desktop publishing software. Windows has also been identified as an area with a big potential and the 1992 survey showed that 15 of the 307 programs are windows programs. * On the "average # of registrations per program" line for group 4 I have not included the registrations reported by one of the authors. That author reported a total of 15,000 registrations, which would increase the average to 217. That author reported $1000 in sales in 1992. Thus this is a program that was once very successful, but its popularity has declined dramatically. REGISTRATION INCENTIVES What do most authors provide as registration incentives? There are no major differences between the responses in 1990 and 1992. The number of authors offering commissions to registered users who lead other users to register has dropped from 10 in 1990 to 5 authors in 1992. Plus, in 1990 there were 3 authors in group one who offer commissions. This year none of the authors in group one pay commissions. The other interesting change is that more authors are now including quick reference cards with their registered versions. In 1990 seven authors offered quick reference cards. In 1992 there are 17 authors offering quick reference cards. The most frequently offered incentive continues to be the current version of the software and free technical support. In group one 74% of the authors also provide a printed manual. This is a much higher percentage than in any other group. This same trend was present in the 1990 survey. Here's a summary of what was reported on the 1992 author survey. The numbers show the number of authors who said they offered a particular registration incentive. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Printed Manual 14 11 9 12 7 Photocopied Manual 2 8 11 21 3 Current Version 19 23 29 44 17 Source Code 1 3 6 1 1 Free Updates 4 7 11 19 1 Commissions 0 2 2 1 0 Phone Support 15 22 27 34 12 Support Via Mail 18 20 25 39 12 Quick Ref. Card 3 1 4 5 4 Free Newsletter 6 5 3 4 3 Other 6 8 8 11 4 Some of the responses included in the "other" category were" - Discounts on upgrades. - Compuserve kit and evaluation copies of other software. - Technical support via Compuserve. - Sequels to the shareware version. - Free support via BBS - Hints, maps and game solutions. - 20% discount on other products - Ball point pen with logo. - On disk users manual Most of the authors who reported providing free updates said that only one update (the next update issued) was provided free. Two authors reported providing free updates for a year. TECHNICAL SUPPORT We asked authors about their technical support policy and how they provided technical support. The 1992 survey showed that authors are starting to use 900 numbers to provide support. In 1990 no authors reporting using a 900 number. In 1992 they are five authors using a 900 number. The number of authors using 800 numbers increased slightly from seven in 1990 to nine in 1992. The following chart shows the number of authors who use a particular method to provide technical support. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 800 Number 2 4 2 0 1 900 Number 3 1 0 0 1 Conventional Phone 14 21 26 33 14 By Mail Only 5 6 7 9 1 Other 6 5 4 7 2 In most cases authors provide support for anyone who calls. Here are the responses to a question asking whether is support given to anyone or just to registered users. Anyone 10 26 26 42 13 Only Registered 3 2 7 9 4 Users RESPONDING TO BUGS We asked authors how they handled fixing bugs in their software. We asked them whether bug fixes were automatically sent to every user, to just those users who complained or whether the author waited till the next update to fix a bug. Most authors said they only send bug fixes to users who complained about the bug. Many authors also said that minor bug fixes would be sent with the next update, but that more significant bug fixes would be sent to anyone who complains. A few authors also said that if the bug was very serious, they would send a new disk to all users. Here's a summary of how authors get bug fixes to users: Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Send Free Updates To 4 4 6 11 4 Everyone Send Free Updates To Registered 2 7 5 5 2 Users Only Send An Update To Users Who 15 19 20 25 9 Complain Wait Until The Next Update Is 11 21 21 33 13 Sent Out COST OF UPDATES & UPGRADES Once a user has registered a program some authors continue to have a significant level of sales resulting from upgrades. This is important to both the user and the author of the software. The sale of upgrades has become a significant part of many author's income. This provides a high level of motivation for the author to continue to work to improve the software and create upgrades that users feel are worthwhile and which they want to buy. As a result the user has continued access to software providing the latest technology and features. User's don't like being asked to purchase an upgrade every few months. And if users feel they are paying too much for upgrades, they will eventually switch to another program. So how often should an author release an upgrade and what should the cost of the upgrade be? Part of the 1992 survey was designed to answer these questions. The following table shows the average cost of an upgrade as a percentage of the original registration cost. Please keep in mind that the percentage you charge should take into consideration the amount of the registration fee. If your program sells for $10.00, it does not make sense to charge $3.40 for an upgrade - in fact you might want to charge the full $10 registration fee for the upgraded version. We also asked authors whether they treat major and minor upgrades differently, and the answer was yes, they do. For example, authors generally charge more for upgrades that include a new manual vs. upgrades that come on a single disk. Here are the results of our questions concerning software upgrades. The number for the frequency of upgrades shows the number of months between upgrade offers sent to users. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Cost Of The Upgrade As A % Of The 34% 27% 40% 44% 29% Registration Cost How frequently are upgrades offered to 15 7 7.8 8.9 6.1 users (months) SHAREWARE DISK VENDORS The 1990 survey showed that only the most successful authors, those in group one, sent disks to more than a 100 vendors. In 1990 the group one authors sent their disks to an average of 268 vendors. During 1990 authors in groups 2,3 and 4 sent disks to a combined average of 65 vendors. The 1992 survey shows that this situation has changed dramatically. While the number for group one authors has increased slightly to 286, authors in groups two and three are coming close to averaging 200 vendors. One factor that affects this is that many authors are using the ASP disk mailing service and they report they are reaching 250-300 vendors via this service. This service is available to ASP members and it provides a way for the costs of mailing disks to vendors and BBSs to be shared among a large group of authors. On the average authors send updated disks to vendors about twice a year. Here's a summary of the average number of disks authors are mailing and how frequently they send updates to shareware disk vendors. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 # of Share- ware vendors 286 177 200 83 228 # of times per year disks are sent to 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.2 1.4 vendors HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? Once you send a new disk to a vendor, how long does it take to start receiving registrations (assuming you've got a good program that people find useful)? Some vendors will get your software into their catalogs within a week or two. Others, mostly the big name major vendors, may take 4 to 6 months to evaluate your software and place it in their catalogs. If your software is easily distributed via BBSs, it can reach users within days. So, on the average, how many weeks does it take before you'll start receiving registrations? Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Avg. Time Between Issuing A Program And Starting To 16.5 20.9 28.3 28.4 15.6 Receive Registrations (weeks) It makes sense that authors in groups one and two start receiving registrations quicker. They have name recognition with both vendors and users. This helps their software to get evaluated sooner and users are more likely to try a program whose name they recognize. AUTHOR RESOURCES What resources and software do authors use to help them with their business? Here are the questions the 1992 survey asked and a summary of the responses. 1) What shareware programs do you use in your business? A total of 116 programs were mentioned. The following table lists the programs most frequently mentioned and includes those programs that were mentioned by three or more authors. The percentage shows the percent of authors who said they used this program. PKzip 28 18.3% PC Write 19 12.4% Tapcis 13 8.5% List 12 7.8% PC File 12 7.8% QEdit 12 7.8% 4 DOS 11 7.2% Procomm 11 7.2% Telix 08 5.2% CopyQM 07 4.6% $harware Marketing $ystem 06 3.9% As-Easy-AS 04 2.6% LHA 04 2.6% None 04 2.6% QModem 04 2.6% Zipkey 04 2.6% File Express 03 2.0% FormatQM 03 2.0% 1) What retail programs do you use in your business? A total of 116 programs were mentioned. The following table lists the programs most frequently mentioned and includes those programs that were mentioned by three or more authors. The percentage shows the percent of authors who said they used this program. Word Perfect 21 13.7% Turbo Pascal 12 7.8% Quatro Pro 09 5.9% DBase 08 5.2% Microsoft Word 08 5.2% Quick Basic 08 5.2% Quicken 07 4.6% Alpha 4 06 3.9% Word For Windows 06 3.9% Borland C++ 05 3.3% Borland Turbo C 05 3.3% Compuserve Information Svs. 05 3.3% Lotus 123 05 3.3% Wordstar 05 3.3% Label Pro 04 2.6% PC Tools 04 2.6% Windows (All versions) 04 2.6% Brief 03 2.0% Norton Utilities 03 2.0% ProComm 03 2.0% RBase 03 2.0% XTree 03 2.0% 3) What publications/books have you found to be useful in running your business? A total of 51 titles were mentioned. The following table lists the programs most frequently mentioned and includes those publications that were mentioned by two or more authors. The percentage shows the percent of authors who said they found a publication to be useful. Writing & Marketing Shareware (book) 26 17.0% Shareware Magazine 13 8.5% ASPects (ASP Newsletter) 04 2.6% PC Magazine 04 2.6% Computer Shopper 03 2.0% Advanced MS-DOS Programming (book) 02 1.3% Byte Magazine 02 1.3% Data Base Advisor 02 1.3% GUIDE.EXE file 02 1.3% Infoworld 02 1.3% PC Sources 02 1.3% Undocumented DOS (book) 02 1.3% The final question of the 1992 author survey asked for advice for new shareware authors. Here's a few of the comments I received: - Start with a good idea and keep improving your product until you get a good response. - Think twice. - Do it for fun rather than money. The odds of making money are not good. - Join the ASP and participate in the monthly ASP mailing. - Get a good, unique idea. Develop it professionally. Join the ASP and don't cripple your software. - There's lots of hard work. Listen to your customers and be patient. - Concentrate on sales and marketing. - Go the extra mile. - Don't expect too much. - Don't quit your day job! - Have fun. - Join the ASP first of all. But _most importantly_ treat shareware as a business. You live or die by the seat of your pants in this game. The days of Jim Button have gone away. Too many authors compete now for a limited base of customers. ================================================================= ================================================================= This concludes the summary of the 1992 shareware author survey. If you are interested in participating in future surveys, please send your name and address to me. My address is: Steve Hudgik P.O. Box 974 Tualatin, OR 97062 Before I conclude there is one additional piece of information I can offer. I have started compiling and maintaining the Shareware Business Index (SBI). This is an index that shows how well shareware authors are doing in their business. The index is based on monthly gross sales submitted to me by shareware authors and it is based on a arbitrary starting point of 100 for January 1989. The SBI provides a way to clearly see whether business is getting better (or worse) for shareware authors. I am pleased to be able to report that, in spite of the recession, shareware authors have been receiving increasing numbers of registrations during 1991 and 1992. The following graph shows the trend over the past 24 months. 300 à ³ ² ² 275 à ² ² ³ ² ² ² ² 250 à ² ² ² ² ² ² ³ ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² 225 à ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ³ ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² 200 à ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ³ ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² 175 à ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ³ ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² 150 à ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ³ ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² 125 à ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ³ ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² 100 à ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ³² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ² ÀÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅÄÅ M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A 91 92 I hope you've found this information and the results of the 1992 survey to be useful. We do need as many authors as possible participating in the Shareware Business Index. The more authors that participate, the more accurate the index will be. If you can supply us with gross sales data for a 12 month or longer period, it would be very much appreciated. Please send your sales information to me at the address given above. If you have any comments on this survey or questions you'd like to see asked on the next shareware author survey, please feel free to write to me. I can't always promise to respond, but I do read everything and I will write back as time permits. Thank you for your support of shareware. --------------------------------------------------------------- (End of author survey - the main body of the SMS newsletter continues from this point) As this edition of SMS was heading towards the June 15 publication date I received a phone call from Bob Ostrander, Public Brand Software Founder, former ASP president and coordinator of the Summer Shareware Seminar. Bob is one of those folks who never stops promoting shareware and is the penultimate source of shareware information. Late breaking news from Bob's corner of "Fantasy Island" is interesting. First, Bob has stepped down as ASP president and will be moving to England in August of this year. Newly elected president, Rich Harper, has taken over the reins of the ASP. In other news which is good for shareware Bob tells me that details are for the most part finalized between Ziff-Davis and the Prodigy telecommunications service to FINALLY ALLOW SHAREWARE DOWNLOADS on Prodigy. This is very good news for authors seeking further distribution of shareware since the inability to download shareware on Prodigy has irritated a number of their customers. The deal is structured so that Ziff- Davis will allow access to the large PBS library of shareware to Prodigy users at a surcharge of $14.50 for the first three hours connect time per month. After the first three hours have been used, a surcharge of ten (10) cents per minute is applied. This also represents quite a coup for Ziff-Davis and Public Brand Software because for the time being they are the EXCLUSIVE shareware provider to Prodigy users. In addition to PBS offerings, the traditional PC-Magazine utilities and Ziff Magazine index and reviews will also be offered. Under the new plan Prodigy members will be allowed up to 3 hours per day of access time to the Ziff-Net service for downloads and other information. Industry observers suggest poor prospects for ANY shareware registrations coming out of Argentina since it is essentially illegal to transfer currency out of that country. There are several rumors making the rounds about a new shareware disk vendor setting up operations in that country. Best for now to sit on the sidelines with regard to Argentina and see how things evolve in a few years. Next, a topic which authors and vendors should consider as we rush into the future of computing with shareware: product and service quality. You don't see much written about shareware quality methods. Everyone seems to discuss program releases, package features, sales figures and vendor profiles. I think it's time we talked quality.... Ultimately, quality is the ONLY way to establish your shareware package as a profitable player in the shareware market. As an active shareware author, the most often repeated comments I see on registration forms received from users of my software are quality comments. Both good and bad. Users, disk vendors and magazine writers who review shareware echo the same refrain: the try before you buy nature of shareware is a sound marketing principle - it's just the quality that is lacking in most shareware packages as well as some disk vendor operations. If one thing is hurting our industry it is LACK OF QUALITY. The basics. Examine shareware packages which are by definition world class quality. The January-February 1992 edition of Shareware Magazine bestowed editor's choice awards on a select group of shareware packages whose quality, elegance and utility are legend. Editor's choice winners included: 4DOS, As-Easy-As, Back and Forth, Boxer Editor, Commander Keen, Command Post, Commo, Contact Plus, HDM IV, Hooper Finance, List, Moraff Games, PC-File, Paint Shop, PC-Write Standard Level, PKZIP, Laserjet soft fonts, Viruscan, Zipkey and School Mom. If you want to offer quality, examine quality in existing packages. How do you aim for quality in the packages you produce? Consider customer-driven operating principles. 1) Overdocument your package and spell check all written files and data. Study the format and design of good documentation seen in the packages mentioned above. Inferior documentation is the MOST FREQUENTLY cited reason for low registration potential in many shareware packages. A customer's first impression is your documentation. It may be the last. When it comes to letters I receive from both vendors and authors, spelling and grammatical inconsistencies stand out. 2) Authors should provide shareware vendors a printed sheet along with a distribution disk which describes what the program does, version number, three levels of description (one line, two line, and full description), phone number, address, Compuserve ID if available, list of features and minimum equipment configuration necessary to run the program. Most of this information needs to be repeated in a readme and/or vendor.doc file so that descriptions can be easily appended to a vendor catalog. If a vendor or user cannot determine this minimum information your disk becomes wastebasket fodder. Some authors consider disk vendors a necessary, almost parasitic necessity of the industry. But on the flip side, I get lots of mail from vendors (and disks from authors) who produce sloppy, redundant products. 3) Provide clear and SIMPLE registration forms. The registration form for my packages contains only four lines: who provided the package to the user, what is the user's name and mailing address, how many copies are ordered, what is the version number of the package. Keep it EXTREMELY simple! Function over form. If you cannot fill out your own registration form in under 20 seconds, it is too complicated! 4) Make the program self-documenting and abide by common keystroke conventions. For example, use the F1 key for help screens. Use pull down menus and dialog boxes if possible. Does your utility program provide help simply by typing in the file name or the command /h or /? such as with PKZIP? F2 is an edit function in many programs. The slash bar or alt key activates a menu in many programs. F10 continues the program action in some older programs. Don't surprise users with a confusingly novel interface. Put a reminder bar at the top or bottom of the screen with keystroke reminders. 5) Flexibility. Allow the user to change screen colors and turn on or off default values such as sound or printing. And make configurability EASY. 6) Arrange your files on disk so that a prominent README file contains key program description, unpacking and startup information and distribution license. I see lots of disks with a huge self-extracting file and tiny readme that says "unpack self-extracting file for program and documentation." Users and vendors want the documentation NOW, not after unpacking. 7) Carefully balance "registration inducements" which might be seen as cripples or "registration disincentives" by the end user. The most popular, and for most users most comfortable, registration inducement system is a variation of the following. Upon program startup a "beg screen" appears. After a short delay the user is requested to press a randomly numbered key (sometimes at a random spot on the screen.) The program runs WITHOUT CRIPPLES. Upon exit, the user is reminded to register the shareware and a registration form printing opportunity is presented with a simple yes or no response and perhaps a final randomly numbered key stroke to return back to the operating system. I also give my users an opportunity to register after the installation program has run as well as from within the main program. 8) Quality also means seeking help if you are a serious shareware author. Hire other shareware authors to program your code or license program libraries if your program needs a boost which you cannot yourself provide. I use tools like the LHA compressor and small installation utility programs from Paul Scanlon because I NEED quality in my products and am willing to pay for software tools to help me get there. 9) Package your program so that files can be distributed in MAXIMUM 360K size file units if possible! I notice more authors shipping high density disks. Fine. But can the internal files be broken out onto two or more separate 360K diskettes? Nothing is more frustrating to a disk vendor than to receive a high density floppy with a 600K file which cannot be broken down for distribution onto standard 360K floppies. Utilities exist which can split or compress large files. Do yourself and the disk vendors a favor by keeping all files below the 360K threshold on multiple disk sets. This point REALLY matters. 10) Strive to have your package run on humble monochrome machines as well as sophisticated VGA graphics computers. Can your software auto-detect various graphics resolutions and adjust accordingly? Most users and potential registrants do NOT have powerful processors. 11) Windows-specific programs are fine. But increase your cash flow by offering a version for Windows and DOS. More computers run DOS than Windows at the moment. Let the market drive you. 12) Don't program specifically for 386 chips or math co- processors unless you want your program to leave the majority of users behind. Auto-detect these chips but don't hardcode instructions for these chips. 13) Make sure the program is REALLY bug free. If necessary reduce your program features even if you suspect a bug might be contained in a flashy graphics or machine code sequence. One author I will leave unnamed sent out an "update/bug fix" disk to me (an lots of other vendors) once every two weeks for 3 months straight. This wasn't new feature additions. Just bug fixes. 14) Explain DOS commands clearly with painfully simple examples in both your program and documentation. Every shareware disk needs a short DOS course. 15) If your program prints files, documentation or reports, be sure to have the program include an extra form feed at the end of the printout to eject the paper from the printer - this is especially true for laser printer users who will be most annoyed that the final sheet of your report remains inside the printer. 16) A distribution disk should be defragged, date cleaned, sorted and spell checked. Use a file defragmentation program to make all files contiguous prior to preparing the distribution disk. Run a small utility like TOUCH.COM on the disk so all files have the same date/time stamp. Run a file sorter like Norton's on the disk to sort the files first by extension then by name (EN sort). Use your word processor's spelling checker to clean up unprofessional documentation spelling errors (we're all human!) 17) Never use subdirectories on your main distribution disk which vendors and customers receive. This will drive most vendors and BBS SYSOPS wild since it hampers disk distribution. 18) When you release a first or early version of a program, be prepared to listen to suggestions for updates and changes. It is tempting to dismiss requests for program changes since "you know the program better than anyone else." Don't let independence and ego get in the way. Quality means attention to detail. Programmer's are a stubborn lot. An attitude which can put a dent in your wallet. 19) Explain error messages. Cryptic errors such as: "67878 transfer abort" are curious and unfriendly. Think in terms of functional error messages like: "disk drive door open." 20) Try to return the computer to the same defaults it began with when your program exits: same screen colors, video mode and screen column width. Close all files and reset clocks and dates. LOTS shareware programs don't do my monitor screen the favor of resetting defaults as they found them. 21) Check out your program with a LARGE file of dummy data. That accounting package you so carefully crafted may be great with about 100 entries doing simple searches and reporting. Try it with about a year's worth of dummy data (say 10,000 entries). 22) Always check your shareware disk for incompatibilities with other programs which are popular such as 4DOS. My PC-Learn package got run through the ringer on this one. My fault, pure and simple. 23) If your package contains Lotus style worksheets or templates will your macros run under both 123 and popular shareware packages such as ASEASYAS and PC-Calc? 24) Always include an invoice in standard layout format in several areas of the program as well as an exclusive menu option. Corporate users and Government offices require an invoice to process billings. 25) Label your disks professionally. Program name, version, address and telephone plus installation or startup commands are necessary on a clear diskette label. It does not have to be fancy, just clear. 26) Upgrade thyself: Consider joining professional groups such as the ASP as well as glancing at my $hareware Marketing $ystem disk package if you want to go further. Attend the Summer Shareware Seminar in Indianapolis this Summer if you want to hone your quality instincts. You CAN, to a certain extent, operate in a programming vacuum of your own design. But you CANNOT operate in a marketing vacuum! You need addresses, leads, ideas, customer input, vendor connections and strategic alliances. Get on Compuserve and print your ID in your packages. At only $7.95 a month for basic services this will probably chop your long distance telephone bill in half. 27) Registration cash flow is serious business in quality control. PROMPTNESS is essential. Train yourself to provide same day or next day response to all arriving registration checks. Even if your package promises no support or update, send out a registration number and thank you letter as a minimum. Visa and Mastercard are good possibilities if you want to aggressively enter the profitable phone order business and is a good thing to mention in your documentation. Many users will call you prior to sending in a registration check just to see "if you are still in business." Telephone courtesy is essential. I would like to hear more about quality in shareware. Drop me a note! Must read "book-on-disk".... Robert Schenot is frequently seen and heard on Compuserve and Genie and is an avid shareware author and researcher. His new shareware "book on disk" is a MUST read item for all authors and is available from Robert directly, most shareware sources and SMS (see GOODIES.TXT elsewhere in this issue for ordering information.) Marketing ideas and unvarnished information about successful shareware marketing strategies. A brief press release from Robert describes this new offering: If you're considering launching a shareware product, you need The ShareWare Book A Whole Earth Catalog for software developers Tips, tools and techniques for successful shareware marketing and development. Includes market research, publicity, getting paid, distribution, resources, product protection, registration encouragement, trademarks, copyrights, licensing, channel management, business issues, support, taxes, manuals, packaging, shipping, international trade. "Everything an author needs to get started" Look for ShareB.EXE in CIS SHARE lib 4 or ShareBk*.zip on BBSs. By Robert Schenot Compass / New England PO Box 117 Portsmouth, NH 03802-0117 (603) 431 8030 (end of press release) Attorney Charles B. Kramer of New York was most helpful with this quarterly edition of SMS and my gratitude is in order. For some time now I have been trying to obtain the text and thought surrounding the new U.S. Copyright law concerning shareware (Copyright Office Rule @201.26.) Diana Gruber of Ted Gruber Software put me in touch with Charles who kindly provided both commentary and text of the new law. This is a FUNDAMENTAL law which all shareware authors and disk vendors should review immediately. The full text of the material is reprinted in the letters to the editor section, elsewhere in SMS. Gradually legislation is catching up with the shareware concept. We've needed it for some time. Continuing with theme of legislation which impacts the shareware community, note that the U.S. supreme court recently ruled on a case which affects collection of interstate Use Tax by mail order vendors. This could affect both authors and disk vendors since we all use the mail and sell software across state lines. The court decision empowers the U.S. Congress to enact laws which MAY make vigorous collection of Use Taxes by individual states a reality. In practical terms, this could mean that authors and disk vendors would be responsible to collect Use Taxes for up to 51 separate states and remit proceeds to each state in a timely manner. The ultimate paperwork nightmare - and possibly the basis for a software program to organize the mess, I suspect! For now, the current political climate suggests that Congress may be a long way off from the point of enacting legislation for two reasons 1) this is an election year 2) consumers are not anxious for legislation of this type. However, the desire of states to obtain revenue from any source will keep this issue on the burner for the future. Curiously, the states have ALREADY been taxing out of state sales for some time on one information commodity VERY SIMILAR to software: newspapers. In 1785, the Massachusetts legislature passed a stamp tax on all newspapers and magazines. Public opposition lead to its repeal a year later. The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed four years later partially as result of that tax debacle. Another point: Government censorship was effectively promoted not through overt censorship but through taxation on information - a interesting concept legal scholars will ponder. Individual states continue to agitate regarding the Use Tax issue on newspapers - which are similar to software and shareware in that they are INFORMATION COMMODITIES. Examples: The state of Virginia taxes the daily deliveries of the out-of- state Washington Post. The LA Times is taxed by many other states in which is has distribution. Likewise for USA Today, the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal. EVERY state which chooses to exercise a Use Tax for out-of-state publishers has not been opposed by the newspaper publisher's industry. In reality the shareware industry is small potatoes when it comes to anxiety about the Use Tax situation. The BIG mail order vendors are lobbying heavily against further legislation on this issue in Congress and the shareware industry will probably benefit front the clout and deep cash reserves of the industry to prevent passage of enabling legislation. For the time being, that is. The shareware industry is obviously along for the ride in a very BIG STAKES game with some serious players. I doubt that our industry will be able to affect the outcome much, but we are along for the ride - like it or not. Shareware in Hong Kong and Asia.... Probably for the time being Hong Kong and large parts of Asia represent a VERY poor market for shareware registration potential. Why? Read the customer survey conducted in Hong Kong and reprinted in the Letters to the Editor Section of this issue of SMS. Opened my eyes! Press release from the ASP.... FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Contacts: Gary Elfring Richard Harper ASP Chairman ASP President Elfring Soft Fonts RGH Software PO Box 61 777 Roth St., Norfolk #4 Wasco, IL 60183 Reed City, MI 49677 (708) 377-3520 (616) 832-4694 Association of Shareware Professionals Welcome 1,000th Member! MUSKEGON, MI--June 8, 1992--ASP (The Association of Shareware Professionals) welcomes its 1,000th member, Mr. Wayland Bruns of JORF Company. ASP (Association of Shareware Professionals) Chairman Gary Elfring welcomed the ASP's 1,000th member, Mr. Wayland Bruns, President of JORF Company, Colton, Oregon. Board Member Paul Mayer interviewed Mr. Bruns, and asked how he felt to be welcomed as the 1,000th member. "I'm thrilled!" said Mr. Bruns. "I've always had a soft spot in my heart for shareware...and I look up to successful [ASP] shareware authors as role models of professionalism." Mr. Bruns' product, JORF, has evolved over the last four years to its current version. JORF 2.0 is an object-oriented interpreted computer language for creating small business applications for DOS and Windows environments, and is particularly well suited to data processing and accounting applications. Wayland is 31 years old and has been programming for over 10 years. JORF is his only shareware program at this time. He is employed full-time as a dBASE programmer, and he manages his shareware business part-time. In his spare time, Wayland enjoys outdoor sports, particularly backpacking. He's climbed the 11,000-foot Mt. Hood in Oregon, east of Portland, and is looking forward to his next challenge, a 12,000-foot mountain. For more information, contact: Association of Shareware Professionals 545 Grover Road Muskegon, MI 49442-9247 Mr. Wayland Bruns JORF Company 25858 Elwood Road Colton, OR 97017 (503) 824-5673 CompuServe ID 73607,3026 Changing gears... Diana Gruber is busy with plans for the new STAR shareware industry trade group which could provide unusual opportunities for shareware authors, vendors and users. Some folks have criticized the new group as a confrontational "anti-ASP" startup. Hard to say, in my opinion. We DO need MORE avenues for shareware discussion and marketing affiliations. Public visibility of shareware is still woefully low. The ASP is one trade group, Diana's group is simply an additional avenue. We probably need BOTH. The new group claims it will feature LOW COST SLIDING FEE DUES, ACCESS TO REAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, OPEN DISCUSSION FORUMS and A STELLAR LIST OF ESTABLISHED SHAREWARE AUTHORS. Why is politics part of shareware? 1) money: there is very little of that commodity among smaller authors and struggling vendors and quite a bit of it on the high end among well established authors and vendors. Money and politics are simply an age old formula. 2) personalities are strong 3) good ideas (and bad ones) flow at the speed of light via CompuServe and email. Politics thrives on communication. If you are involved in shareware get involved in the politics, too! Special thanks to Coultas Marketing (3090 Sumac Rd, Fallbrook, CA 92028). Quite a few bad and undeliverable addresses have popped up in the main SMS mailing list due to recession, business closings and vendors moving to new addresses. Coultas was kind in sharing a large stack of returned address information which has been merged into the main SMS mailing list. Three programs are on disk with this issue of SMS: SISLITE, SMS EXTRACT and WRITER'S DREAM.... Paul Scanlon of Palmdale, California has just released his new Shareware Installation System. Honey of a program for shareware authors. Press release regarding the new system follows: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/15/92 New LOW COST, MACHINE CODE installation system uniquely designed for shareware authors! Machine code speed, fully programmable, Royalty Free and a BARGAIN PRICE! System is a shareware package. Paul Scanlon Scanlon Enterprises 38354 17th St. E. Palmdale, CA 93550 TEL: (805) 272-4827 COMPUSERVE: 77561,2133 The Shareware Installation System, scheduled for release on 5/19/92 represents a dramatic opportunity for shareware programmers needing the ultimate SMALL SIZE, LOW COST PROFESSIONAL installation system for your shareware distribution disks. Using a copyrighted machine code algorithm, the package appends your custom installation commands to a TINY highly configurable machine code COM file program with which your end users interface. Having a RICH programming language of over 20 custom commands (including variables), the system ensures ULTIMATE flexibility, TOTAL password protection from end user tampering and high speed MACHINE CODE BULLET PROOF INSTALLATIONS for your users. Installation screens are every bit as professional and smooth as commercial installation products of similar type but has a MUCH SMALLER COM FILE than similar packages! Commands are available to fully control screen color, cursor position, displayed information, get yes/no responses, get a line of input such as a target path, get destination drive, change drives, change directories, and MUCH more, including execution of ANY external program such as self extracting files, or an un-compression system to extract files, etc. This tiny program is a fully functional programming system. The package is shareware. Special price effective till June 30th, 1992 : $29.95 Price after June 30th, 1992 is $39.95 Please include $3 for shipping. CA residents must include tax. (end of press release) Second program on disk with this issue of SMS: In the same vein, Paul has also released a program which facilitates conversion of the SMS mailing list - currently in dBase format - to pure ASCII which readers and users request from time to time. You'll find a copy of his SMS Extract program elsewhere on the main SMS disks. A nice utility for those who need a FAST conversion of the SMS mailing list. Third program on disk with this issue of SMS: I recently registered a fascinating little product called Writer's Dream. This tiny jewel is an authoring system which lets you design product catalogs, shareware disk tutorials and more. Now, there are other authoring systems out there like LOOKBOOK, IRIS and COURSEMASTER. This package features TINY size and RAPID SETUP. The menu system which you generate from Writer's Dream can also call COM, EXE and BAT files so you can also branch to other programs, display pictures with a viewer or whatever. At under 26K in size and 15 minute configuration this thing is amazing. An automated optional order form printing program makes blank order form preparation for registrations or disk vendor ordering forms a snap. From Jeff Napier, Another Company, POB 298, Applegate, OR 97530. And just when I thought Writer's Dream was the ultimate authoring system, Jeff advised me that he is also releasing the big brother to Writer's Dream called THE MULTIMEDIA WORKSHOP. This shareware package - available from Jeff or by ordering from the SMS GOODIES section - is the cats pajamas... Multimedia Workshop allows anyone to design a complete presentation on disk including graphics, text, sound effects, music and animation. Great idea for tutorial systems or training packages. Main program has 10 scalable fonts, PCX file support, melody composition, build option, 16 and 256 color palette, zoom, undo, grid design, coordinate display, on-line help, mouse and arrow key support, 12 fill patterns, printer support, spraypaint, pixel editing, ASCII import, timing functions and more. Incredible programming achievement if you think you want to design a fresh new package for the shareware or training market. Another disk which just arrived is the Disk Mailer. You wonder why somebody didn't think this one up before. You have a disk you want to submit to vendors. Most authors grab some envelopes, print an enclosure sheet, stuff in the disks and mail it out. Disk Mailer takes the ULTRA LOW BUDGET route and uses your printer and TWO PLAIN PIECES OF PAPER to produce the mailer, feedback form, enclosure, the works! Budget oriented which should make most authors take notice. Obtain from SMS (GOODIES.TXT section.) An exceptional shareware package arrived on my desk the other day that will be making the rounds. SPORT provides "wide area information transfer and remote resource management." In plain English this shareware package is a communication program like nothing you have ever seen. It is designed to facilitate email and information exchange in a business or workgroup setting (hint: a group of programmers working collectively on a software project, a team of marketing and direct mail folks working with a disk vendor) this package is LOADED. In UNATTENDED mode you can exchange email, attach files to email, use keywords within messages to retrieve files, route incoming messages to OTHER SYSTEMS, compress and decompress files automatically prior to sending, present daily news summaries related to the project for all team members, schedule events, design conferences so that messages are circulated to a planned route, write advanced scripts, password protect all or any levels. And that is just part of it. No, this thing is not exactly a BBS - it is a workgroup software package that runs like a BBS but with more specific features. Order from SMS (see GOODIES section) or Bob Ernstthal, Augustine Assoc, 67 Wool St, San Francisco, CA 94110. 415/285-7064. MODEM: 415/648-8120. CIS: 70323,3003. Quite a few other packages of interest to authors and vendors have recently arrived. Be sure to check the SMS GOODIES section! On to news from the government sector... Amazing but true. How would you like to tap into TONS of free source code? U.S. Government software programs, prepared at tax- payer expense are in many cases public domain. If the government prepares a report, piece of software or item of research it cannot be copyrighted in most cases. Source Translation and Optimization has just released their directory of over 10,000 software programs produced by the Government in over 75 different application areas such as CASE tools, expert systems, accounting, databases, and many other areas. Consider obtaining the U.S. Government Source Code Directory for $149 plus $7.50 shipping. Available in print or MS-DOS disks. Contact Source Translation and Optimization, POB 404, Belmont, MA 02178. 617/489-3727. What's hot? What's not? Shareware disks in the channel . . . SOFTWARE U.S.A. of Tulsa, Oklahoma reports their top disk sellers in February and March 1992 were Duke Nukem, Battle Ground Line Drive Fantasy Baseball, McMurphys Mansion, Pharaos Tomb, Home Managment II, QTax, Automate, Vacation Planner, HDM IV, Ultimate Geography and JBT Tools. SOFTWARE U.S.A. is at 4845 S. SHERIDAN, #505, P.O. BOX 471883, TULSA, OK 74147-1883 PHONE 918-481-6533, FAX 918-622-7889. Send them a disk! Good vendor. Top 20 programs in Britain and the U.K., according to the May 1992 issue of PC Shareware Magazine were Information Please, Family Tree Journal, Skyglobe, Beginners Needs, Wampum, Draft Choice, Page Financial Controller, Power Menu, Regit, 4 DOS, 22NICE/22DISK, A86/D86, Palmistry for all, Windows Icon Tools, Windows Icons 1, Odyssey, Sharespell, PC Draft CAD, Intermediate Needs and ImagePrint. Top ten programs noted in the Spring 1992 edition of Shareware Express catalog (Ashland, Oregon) were Duke Nukem, Icon Library, Print Partner, World29, Skyglobe, Zipkey, Recipe Processor, King of Kroz, Family Fun and Graphic Workshop. Desktop Paint is seen as a rising star in their catalog and is FAVORABLY making the rounds in many other vendor's catalogs. Keep an eye on this package. Turnabout is fair play department.... I hear this complaint ALL the time - shareware authors gripe about disk vendors who NEVER respond to their disk submission or request for information Fair enough. But here is the flip side. I received a postcard from Brian Nash, author of computer SoftShop thanking me for a registration received via my distribution of his program. You will find it listed in the SMS GOODIES section. The point: how many times do authors gripe about lack of vendor response but NEVER THANK A VENDOR for distributing disks or garnering a registration which obviously came from a particular vendor? As an author I am guilty and I would guess quite a few other authors are also in the same boat. Thanks to Brian for showing me that common sense and courtesy cut both ways. New technology is out there.... Electronic News, May 25, 1992 edition reports that evolving silicon technology may lead to etched silicon chips on glass substrates. Although in formative stages, the idea here is to incorporate more circuitry for camcorders, laptops and video games directly ONTO THE GLASS SUBSTRATE OF THE LCD VIEWING PANEL. Used to be the motherboard of a computer was hooked to the viewing panel. Soon the viewing panel WILL BE THE MOTHERBOARD! The economies of scale actually improve the larger the display becomes. The bigger the panel the cheaper the overall device! Curiously this new development, was not leading edge at all but what industry observers call "trailing edge" technology using "polysilicon fabrication" which can be implemented at circuit density widths of 1 to 2 microns - old stuff by today's standards. Amorphous silicon technology is truly leading edge on chip fab lines. The Japanese and Americans have invested millions in the newer process while paradoxically the older polysilicon method holds the key to the glass substrate chip effort. This may lead to predictable delays in product delivery. The point for shareware: laptop and palmtop computers will keep getting smaller and cheaper VERY SOON. And the need for good inexpensive software (meaning shareware) will keep growing. A few notes on changes within the SMS mailing list (DATABASE.EXE). Load the SMS mailing list into your database package and sort on the DATA REVISED. Late updates tend to float to the bottom of the list and older near the top. If you scan newer updates you will see quite a few new type "E" executive shareware and corporate shareware users. A juicy one I might point out is Mr. Herb Drucker, General Manager, Info Services, American Red Cross in Washington DC (full address in SMS mailing list.) Herb just registered 2,500 copies of my PC-Learn package in one of the largest site licenses I have ever sold. Take a close look at executive and corporate users - sometimes disk vendors and BBS systems are only the START of your disk submissions. Shareware vendors on the move.... Reasonable Solutions of Medford Oregon has finished pouring foundations for their new 9,000+ square foot office and warehouse and should move into the facility in July of this year. Order volume increases have made the move necessary. Their catalog is printed on recycled paper - a decision I wish more vendors would make. Their catalog, though small, has some of the clearest descriptions and best use of color for guiding readers to new programs and updates. Jim Thompson of Jim Thompson Enterprises in Anaheim, California has come up with an interesting marketing wrinkle which authors SHOULD check out. Shareware customers who send Jim PROOF OF REGISTRATION for your package and an introductory order of 5 disks, get any 10 disks from his catalog free. It does not matter if they registered the disk obtained from Jim Thompson or not! Your disk MUST appear in his catalog for the offer to be honored. Read the full offer in the letters section and send Jim Thompson your disk pronto and spread the information to your registered customers. I think this is a good example of a vendor honestly trying to help authors get registrations regardless if the customer obtain the package from him or not. Fascinating idea. Southern Enterprises (Rt 6 Box 600, Marion, VA 24354 has just published their new catalog using version 3.0 of Writer's Dream which was discussed above. But what is really impressive is their accompanying demo disk. Most shareware disk vendors just dump a catalog in the mail to a prospective customer. Southern's demo disk, also organized using Writer's Dream, is a TIGHT LITTLE COLLECTION OF SHAREWARE: several games, a floppy disk cleaner, solitaire, Kroz game and much more. If anything will get a customer to buy, this thing should. You should check this out to see how shareware demos SHOULD really be presented. I have seen lots of klunky promotional demos for shareware from vendors; this one is simple, clean and really shows a customer the variety of shareware out there on one 360K disk. Writer's Dream organizes it into a simple point and shoot system which is FUN. Disk available from Southern Enterprises or also can be ordered from the SMS GOODIES section. Niche market disk vendor: Linda Bloom, 4986 PB Canal Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33415. Linda's BBS specializes in Home schooling and education. Bet you didn't know that Curt Bruce, owner of disk vendor operation The Software Shoppe (POB 2440, Matthews, NC 28106) is in real life a practicing judge! I received a nice note from Judge Bruce in March sharing concerns and compliments on my PC- Learn package and SMS. Judge Bruce sits on the bench for the Mecklenburg County 26th judicial district general court of justice. Smart cookie and all round nice guy, too. I would be VERY careful enforcing poorly constructed licensing agreements with The Software Shoppe! American Value (POB 624, Marion, IA 52302) is a new disk vendor with interesting marketing concepts. They limit their library to an inventory of only the best shareware, supply retailers directly rather than focus on mail order, dupe shareware onto name brand diskettes for better quality control and solicit authors directly whose programs they wish to carry. Company president is David Schneider. I like Automated Systems disk vending operation (POB 192, Little Falls, NJ 07424 201/812-1427). They have recently released their perfect party planning package as well as updated their one-of-a-kind wedding planning package. I receive a nice stream of registration checks from their operation, but more than that you have to respect a vendor who is out there producing shareware in an authorship capacity as well as vending it. You feel a little kinship from a vendor who is down in the trenches producing a product just like you. Jane Semeraro, Librarian and Project Manager, maintains author contact points out that they have two offices: 287 Lackawanna Ave, Galvin Bldg, West Paterson, NJ 07424 and 386 Main St., Little Falls, NJ 07424. Authors should primarily submit disks to the post office box mentioned in the opening sentence. Keep Automated Systems updated - I think your registration stream will reflect that this is a quality vendor. PD Connection (POB 8454, Westerville, OH 43081) has just shipped their newly revised catalog on disk and PD Connection Newsletter. For a one page newsletter, this publication is short, sweet and simple. Also devoid of the usual typos and fuzzy graphics I see in most vendor newsletters. The PC Connection catalog disk is also interesting with a clean interface than makes searching for a shareware title among ALL categories FAST and EASY. The beauty of a disk based catalog is that you can search and sort rapidly, but few vendors really implement the concept very well. The PD Connection catalog disk is massive and easy to work with. Order a copy from PD Connection or obtain from the SMS GOODIES section. New disk vendor for your consideration - send 'em a disk. Dorothy Geiger, Geiger Communications, 69 Morse Rd, Columbus, OH 43214. 614/261-8711 FAX: 614/261-0632. Another new disk vendor with a foreign address is Brian Rondel, Rondel Direct, POB 47, Lawson, NSW Australia 2783. tel (047) 592145. A smaller disk vendor going into operation in the Washington, DC area for your consideration: Catherine Cooper, 1258 Talbert St SE, Washington, DC 20020. The Washington DC area is home to a LOAD of government offices and potential customers for your shareware. My shareware disks went out in the mail to Catherine ASAP. A new disk vendor worth consideration is WTL Technology Inc (255 Duncan Mill Rd, Ste 305, Toronto, ONT, Canada M3B 3H9 416/445- 6544). Manger Joseph Wong notes that his company specializes in procuring shareware and related programs for distribution in the Far East. In Hong Kong they own Shareware Technology, Inc. which distributes to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and other regions of Asia. Submissions preferred in 3.5 inch disk format if possible. Another disk vendor within the asian shareware market is PC Software Publishing (372-K, Lorong 1, Hilir Garden, Ujong Pasir, Melaka 75050 Malaysia.) A detailed letter from PC Software Publishing highlighting that market is contained in the letters to the editor section of this edition of SMS. CWI disk vendors of Anaheim, CA has spruced up their catalog with a new full color cover showing screen dumps of some of the best and brightest shareware packages. Internally their catalog remains as useful as ever - good index of titles in the back, solid and logical customer order forms, clear markings on packages which are new and updated. I receive a good stream of registrations from CWI on my packages so can only echo the old refrain.... Send them a disk. POB 4851, Anaheim, CA 92803. 800/777-5636. Wagner Enterprises (5271 Newton Falls Rd, Ravenna, OH 44266 216/297-9330) is featuring a 20% discount on disks ordered by shareware authors and vendors. No time limit. No quantity limit. VISA and MC ok. Obtain a copy of their latest catalog - from the SMS GOODIES section or direct from Wagner Enterprises. Tollfree: 800/888-WAGS. Your-Way Shareware is another new operation headed by Larry McGee (POB 1009, Plattsburgh, NY 12901). This operation features an interesting wrinkle in offering end users savings by allowing a choice of either uncompressed shareware or compressed versions with price varying depending on file size. Sensible idea. Instructions provided on disk and paper to assist customers unpacking software items. All four media size diskettes will be offered at no additional charge to customers - only file size determines final price. A unique electronic catalog will automatically total the customer order. Customers preferring a paper catalog will have that option. Authors may request EXACT descriptions in the catalog - not just edited versions produced by staff. Collect phone calls accepted from authors (518/562- 8124). Larry McGee, Wendy McGee, Brian Rivers, Paul Edwards. Tsunami Software (POB 8015-345, Redondo Beach, CA 90277) has expanded their catalog to include a larger variety of titles. In addition, their custom instant credit offer form continues: $100 instant credit account with their operation. Fill out the credit application, pay only $25 per month on outstanding balance and $25 on first customer order. Haven't seen many vendors going this route. Shareware outlet owner Thomas Bookhamer (713 - 110th Ave NE, Ste 207, Bellevue, WA) continues his relentless expansion march. Two more new retail storefronts are planned in the Pacific Northwest this quarter - one in a large local shopping mall. ALWAYS send Shareware Outlet a disk - they are one of the quiet growth companies with MASSIVE disk sales volume. Micro Technology (21 Vintage Drive, East Windsor, NJ 08520) is broadening its product line to include full computer systems at attractive prices plus motherboards and subassemblies. A good way to broaden cash flow in an otherwise crowded market. Mr. Disk shareware vendors (5915 Casey Drive, Knoxville, TN 37909) has an unusual niche. They work with a small but solid collection of shareware and place their collection in small bookstores, off price malls and rack jobber operations. They must be expanding their outlets all over the place because my registrations for Mr. Disk have really taken off in the last 2 months. As the shareware disk vending business becomes ever more competitive, niche marketing and sub-niche marketing is appearing a necessary option. Mr. Disk does a GOOD job for me in securing registrations for my PC-Learn - drop them a sample of your program. The Ziff-Davis marketing touch is in full bloom in the latest Public Brand Software Catalog (POB 51315, Indianapolis, IN 46251). Ziff writer PRESTON GRALLA, frequent PC/Computing writer and author to the PC/Computing Guide to Shareware, graces the pages of the latest PBS catalog with a detailed two page article on shareware solutions to supercharge DOS. In a clever marketing wrinkle, PBS makes available a 32 disk set of every program mentioned in Preston's article for $119. Neat trick - write an article which "namedrops" a variety of shareware targeted at improving DOS and then create a "bundled package" containing those programs. The Environmental Protection Agency is also pumping out a lot of shareware disks for the PBS catalog. Esoteric stuff like surface water information, lead contamination, pesticide storage and such. I'm not sure how valuable this is to the average shareware user, but you have to admit this is a distinction in that PBS was selected as the primary distributor for this series of shareware disks which were developed at Purdue University. In related news, page 14 of the April 1992 issue of PC Shareware Magazine reports that PBS was rumored to have signed a special 14 page contract with the developers of Xtree to secure distribution rights for the famous Xtree product. Software Express (3880 Kiesel Ave, Ogden, UT 84405) has an interesting wrinkle. Arrangements have been made with Iomega Corporation which manufactures the popular Bernoulli Disk Drive, to distribute a new 90 megabyte shareware demonstration disk to EACH of their customers. Copies could be sent out to over 20,000 customers in the next year. Check out the details in the letters to the editor section of SMS elsewhere in this issue. ASP membership revoked.... Page 10 of the April 1992 edition of PC Shareware Magazine notes that R Fringe Software of Tallahasee, Florida has been expelled from the ASP due to complaints about failure to supply software after receipt of registrations fees. Problem disk vendors.... Louis Puccio, a shareware author based in New York spotted a couple of disk vendors with, shall we say, curious business practices: Home Office Technologies at 10985 Pinehigh Drive, Alpharetta, GA 30201 sent Louis a shipment of disks which he ordered. Problems were numerous. Some disks contained outdated programs from as far back as 1987. Files and some disks were unreadable - out of alignment drives or poorly maintained disk duping equipment could be the culprit here. Very small files and unfilled disks contained tiny programs. Formatting shareware packages advertised with features (360K and 800K format) which were inoperable or not offered by the package. Catalog disk not protected by appropriate diskette sleeves. Pretty poor impression.... Another trouble spot was Matrix Software, 3308 W. 22nd St, Lawrence, KS 66047 9134/841-0121 (Catalog regarding this vendor ordered from RA Wolfert, POB 293772, Lewisville, TX 75029. Magazine advertisements state shareware disks available at 89 cents each. After getting the catalog you notice that this price is good for members only. Everyone else pays $2.00 per disk which is not stated in the ad. Bait and switch? You decide. Passings and job changes.... With some sadness I must share that Jim Goode of The Technical Group (Springfield, IL - address in SMS mailing list) died unexpectedly in March of this year. The Technical Group is a solid disk vendor operation which also publishes the Micro Moonlighter Newsletter and offers sensational job training seminars featuring shareware to the likes of the Illinois Bell Telephone Company and Ameritech Corporation. Jack Carson is Vice President of the Technical Group and can also be reached at CIS 70274,3274. We will remember Jim Goode as a tremendously creative guy with a great sense of humor. Jim promoted shareware honestly and with a great deal of vigor. Charles "Luke" Lukey, longtime marketing director for Expressware, maker of File Express and other fine packages, has left that post for other assignments. We wish him well. A while ago several disk vendors asked me if I had recommendations for sources of portable exhibit equipment for things like trade shows, flea markets, seminars and conventions. You bet.... Featherlite Exhibits, 7300 - 32nd Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55427. 800/328-4827 ext 1490. Or 612/537-5533. Magic Frame, 12700 SE Crain Hwy, Brandywine, MD 20613 800/638- 0980. Professional Displays, 746 Arrowgrand, Covina, CA 91722 800/222-6838. Skyline Displays Inc, 1301 Cliff Rd E., Burnsville, MN 55337. 800/328-2725. The Godfrey Group, POB 10247, Raleigh, NC 27605. 919/544-6504. Downing Displays, 115 W. McMicken Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45210. 800/543-7075. What about PRODUCT display equipment? Equipment like packaging, rotating disk racks for stores, pegboard setups, plastic stack caddies. Contact Siegel Display Products at POB 95, Minneapolis, MN 55440. 612/340-1493. Neat stuff galore for disk vendors getting into rack display or jobber sales. Next a source for paper products like nothing you've ever seen! Over 147 different laser papers! Foils, envelopes, tinted papers. You could make some great catalogs, disk mailers or even press releases with this stuff. Paper Direct, POB 618, 205 Chubb Ave, Lundhurst, NJ 07071-0618 800/A-PAPERS. If you want either ordinary or REALLY EXOTIC PAPER STOCK these guys have it. I stumbled onto another interesting resource the other day. Tollfree order taking. Basically a 800 tollfree number manned 24 hours a day to provides services for shareware authors like inbound telemarketing, order taking, referrals (tell caller nearest source for product), ad response. AAB Communications, 2809 Wayzata Blvd, Minneapolis, MN 55405. 800/243-9712. Disk Vendors: doing MONSTER catalog printing runs that your local printer is overcharging for? If you have really LARGE production runs and want bottom prices go to Dinner+Klein, 600 S. Spokane St, POB 3814, Seattle, WA 98124 206/682-2494. Custom printing with some smaller catalogs runs as low as 7.5 cents each. Tollfree 800/234-6637. Want tape cassettes of the Summer Shareware Seminar? All of the 1992 Summer Shareware Seminar sessions will be taped and made available on cassette. You won't miss a word in either track. Attend Friday's beginner's track and later on catch every bit of advice offered during the experienced track. Attend the author's track on saturday and later listen to every detail of saturday's distributor's track. You'll hear every suggestion, tip, discussion and get the information you need to make your business more successful. Prices for tapes are as follows: When Ordered When Ordered Before Or During After June 21 The SSS Single Tape $9.95 $12.95 n Track (3 tapes) $19.95 $30.00 Complete SSS (11 tapes) $79.95 $125.00 Please add $5.00 for ground shipment, $15 for second day air and $25.00 for next day air. For air mail outside North America please add $10.00 for Europe and Africa or $20.00 for Asia and Australia. Tapes will be shipped as soon as they are duplicated. Steve Hudgik, Homecraft P.O. Box 974 Tualatin, OR 97062 FAX (503) 692-0382 CIS 71450,254 There's an order form in file TAPES.ZIP in LIB 0. Download this file, print out the form and fill it out. Take advantage of the price break for early orders. The tapes will be professionally mass duplicated beginning on Monday, June 22nd. To take advantage of the discount price we must receive your order before 12 noon (pacific time) on Monday, June 22nd. Magazines and Publications you didn't know existed.... Shareware Magazines are proliferating in quantity and quality. Newly released Alternative Personal Computing from Australia is a nicely prepared publication from Sarwax Pty and Budgetware. The premiere April 1992 issue provided detailed views of the Boxer text editor, Formula 1 algebra program, JW Olsen's global view of shareware, game reviews, archiving utilities and beginners tutorials. Subscriptions and correspondence can be sent to Alternative Computing Magazine, POB 1075, Maroubra, NSW 2035, Australia. Readers of the first issue received a coupon good for one free disk from Budgetware. Nice idea. George Margelis, owner of Budgetware Australia and I had dinner together when George was in town a few weeks ago. Several trends are evolving in the "down under" continent. George has noticed quite an increase in new disk vendor operations. The bad news is that the turnover in Australia seems especially high with quite a few smaller vendors starting up and then quietly fading away within a few months. I have also seen several startups in neighboring New Zealand. The bad news is that turnover tends to sour customers about our industry. The good news is that shareware is assuming higher visibility in that part of the world and disk submissions are in order since, as an English speaking country, shareware packages need no translation in most cases. Another new magazine on the scene is the delightful Shareware Update published by Mike Comish and the Software Excitement! crowd of Oregon. The premiere issue was a colorful and nicely balanced presentation of new packages such as Easy Format, the Integral Scientist, Readfast, The Age of Aquarium and others. A detailed CompuServe tutorial, games review and programmer's corner with the Hardin Brothers made for a nicely balanced magazine. Though not yet as big as Shareware Magazine from PC- SIG nor as comprehensive as PC Shareware Magazine from the U.K, this is a well crafted publication. Subscriptions are $19.95. Contact Shareware Update Magazine, Subscriptions Department, POB 2454, White City, OR 97503-9901. A little off the beaten path from shareware are several unique trade journals worth subscriptions: MAST Magazine. Mailing and Shipping Technology for the Industry Professional. Hardcore information on packaging, shipping, postal equipment and services. Barcodes, labelling, packaging, ZIP code plus 4 and postnet options. If you are a disk vendor READ THIS THING! Authors should also take a look. Recent articles includes environmental packaging considerations, high volume sorting, key account reps in the industry, ways to save postage, chosing a barcode printer, cost effective supplies for shipping and MUCH MORE. Free trial subscription. Contact MAST, RB Publishing, 6000 Gisholt Drive, Ste 201, Madison, WI 53713- 4816. 608/221-8730 FAX: 608/221-0263. HOT item! In the same vein, get a free copy of the MAILERS SOFTWARE CATALOG. Software for zip code mapping, mailing list databases, postage optimization software, zip+4 sorting. Some disks include demographic research, zip code boundary software, even gender sorting (separate male and female customers from a common list.) Weird and useful stuff for those in the mail order business. There is even one that personalizes mailing lists and adds latest postal rules and rate structures to your existing software. Another hot item is the street atlas. Type in a zip code and see a map of that city location - anywhere in USA! Get this NOW. Contact Melissa Data Corporation, 32122 Paseo Adelanto, San Juan Capistrono, CA 92675-3600 800/443-8834. Borland is offering a free introductory copy of their excellent BORLAND LANGUAGE EXPRESS Magazine to those who ask. Current circulation has topped 1,000,000 readers worldwide, according to Borland. Featuring articles on topics such as C++ frameworks, Objectvision, DLL technology and constructing Windows aps, this is a hot item. Obviously the ads run heavily in praise of Borland software technology, but useful source code and programming ideas are scattered throughout the magazine. Get a free intro issue: Borland Language Express, 1800 Green Hills Rd, POB 660005, Scotts Valley, CA 95067-0005. Publisher: Brian Anderson. Editor: David Intersimone. Electronic News is another great hardcore magazine. Request a reader card and fill it out to get a subscription. High end news about chip technology, emerging government contracts in the electronic marketplace, battles and emerging alliances between chip manufacturers, what new technology to expect and more. Most programmers like to study source code. Electronic news is focused on market trends and semiconductor news. Why bother? Because if you can spot a trend early which relates to an emerging chip, device or company you might get the jump on a new shareware package. Electronic News, by Electronic News Publishing, International Data Group, 488 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10022. Moving further up the power curve to a magazine you may NOT understand is Computer Design: Technology and Design Directions. This thing is loaded with deep articles about ASIC design, RISC technology, backplane standards - chip design concepts that make software technology look like child's play in comparison. This thing discusses what is going on BEYOND the cutting edge in electronics. Why read it? 1) you might qualify for a free copy 2) lots of software is discussed and there might be shareware opportunities 3) most of your competitors will simply lack the IQ to get through this magazine which may leave you with some very fertile ideas for shareware. Contact: Computer Design, Circulation Department, BOX 3466, Tulsa, OK 74101-3466. Ask for a reader qualification/questionnaire card. Shareware authors having an interest in telecommunications and networking on a grand scale should read another free magazine (free if you qualify on the reader qualification card.) Communications week covers LANS, WANS, marketing, internetworking and suppliers for that industry. Hackers who code shareware with LAN or WAN capabilities will find this a good piece. Communicatons Week, by CMP Publications, 600 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030. Windows Tech Journal is the definitive source if you use C, C++, Pascal, Actor, Smalltalk or Visual Basic. Annual Subscription is $29.95. Contact: Windows Tech Journal, POB 70087, Eugene, OR 97401. Working with Borland C++ and trying to put Windows Aps together? Get a copy of Windows Graphics programming with Borland C++. $29.95. John Wiley and Sons Inc, POB 6793, Dept 063, Someset, NJ 08875. Very well done. Another hot book for programmers is TSRific which helps you write TSR programs which are small, swap to EMS or XMS, use under 14K no matter how large your program is, restore screens, are tolerant to interrupt conflicts, have user selectable hot keys and more. South Mountain Software, 76 S. Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ 07079. 201/762-6965. Computer Language is an excellent overview magazine for all professional programmers. On most newsstands or write to Computer Language, POB 51258, Boulder, CO 80321 A bit more specific is the Windows/DOS Developers Journal which, as the name suggests, appeals to the Window-holics among us. Write to 1601 W. 23rd St, Suite 200, POB 3127, Lawrence, KS 66046. A weird but useful resource for marketing types is the Lead Sheet. This slick little publication covers new business formations, DBA and AKA (doing business as and also known as) fictitious names, contact names and phone numbers for new businesses, listings by SIC code such as all new restaurants, all greenhouses, etc. Write to County Data Corp., 136 West Canal St, POB 428, Winooski, VT 05404. 800/232-2134 (west coast, tollfree) 800/545-3237 (east coast tollfree.) Moving away from the subject of the business of shareware to a philosophy of business.... Succeeding in business, any business, is a hot topic these days. The ultimate entrepreneur when it comes to success is T. Boone Pickens, chairman of Mesa Petroleum. Shareware authors and disk vendors would do well to ponder his advice for success: "Learn to analyze well. There is no substitute for good research and common sense. These skills let you assess risk and options. Second: Don't be afraid to act. The biggest problem in government and business is the fear of making a decision and assuming risk. I call it the ready aim...aim....aim...aim.... aim...syndrome. You have to be willing to pull the trigger. Third: be a team player. Know your organization and give it your support. Fourth: practice moderation in all that you do in work and play. Don't believe the myth that you have to slight your wife and kids to succeed. Fifth: stay physically fit. One more thing, once you do succeed don't let it go to your head. Success is like the tide and can change quickly." Source - Marketplace radio program, National Public Radio, June, 1992. Small details count... A few years back I noticed a small policy at PC-SIG then a policy reversal then a reversal again. PC-SIG, in the good old days, used to offer authors submitting shareware disks for evaluation one free disk from their library as a matter of good will. A short line on the bottom of their submission form allowed the author to select a free disk. Nothing big. Just a small detail. The practice was discontinued for a time and then reinstated. Now it's off again. The latest message from Victoria Irwin of the PC-SIG library says "We regret dropping the free disk offer, but like many others we are making certain recessionary cutbacks." The new submission form lacks the free disk offer. What does it mean? Not much in terms of larger shareware issues but one might draw the conclusion that there is pressure of disk vendors both large and small to contain costs. Just when you thought the Summer Shareware Seminar in Indianapolis was the ONLY event worth attending... Along comes the ultimate software marketing seminar: Distribution Day '92 - Changing channels, a seminar on software distribution. Slated for June 30, 1992 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bellevue Washington, this is the premiere COMMERCIAL software marketing seminar. Hosted by the Washington Software Association the event features presentations on software marketing strategies to Superstores and Mass merchants, taking advantage of specialty retailing, selecting partnerships in software marketing, pursuing VAR channels, changes in the mail order channel and more. Why bother? We are a shareware channel, right? Not really anymore. Shareware products are evolving into commercial products and need commercial marketing ideas. Commercial software firms are testing the shareware channel. By thinking that shareware is the ONLY affordable channel worth marketing into, you might be missing the boat! Example: my PC- Learn package will be released in France as a purely commercial product. Buttonware has shifted PC-File from shareware to commercial channels. VP-Info shifted from commercial to shareware. Same for Xtree. For information on this seminar contact the Washington Software Association, 18804 North Creek Parkway, STE 112, Bothell, WA 98011 206/483-3323. $295 for non members or $195 for WSA members. Why so expensive? Good info doesn't come cheap and the guest speakers are world class software marketers who don't work for pennies on the dollar.... If that seminar in addition to the SSS doesn't throw you into information overload, there is yet another seminar to consider: SOFTWARE LICENSING AGREEMENTS: A COMPREHENSIVE CONTRACT WORKSHOP FOR SOFTWARE BUYERS, VENDORS AND DEVELOPERS. Slated for presentation during multiple presentations during the month of July, 1992 in U.S. cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Diego, Chicago and Southfield, Michigan this seminar covers topics such as trade secrets, copyright, maintenance agreements, source code escrow contracts, site licensing, patent protection, viruses, support contracts and much more. Software available at the seminar includes QUICKFORM which generates complete contract agreements after you answer a few simple questions about the type of agreement and clauses and conditions which the contract should cover. For information contact Sequoia Corporation, 2001 - 16th St NW, Suite 406, Washington DC 20009 202/955-9373 FAX: 202/955-9371. Interested in a seminar revolving around programming tools and technologies? Software Development '92. Hardcore exhibits and presentations on tools for coding and software production for programmers. Sept 14 through Sept 18, World Trade Center, Boston. Contact: Software Development Conferences and Shows, POB 7797, San Francisco, CA 94120. For database developers the name of the game is competition. Consider attending the 1992 Developers Competition to be held October 9th and 10th of this year in North Carolina. Watch or participate as 43 teams of the best and brightest developers and products solve complex programming assignments in real time under tight deadlines. $10,000 in cash prizes, $150,000 in software and hardware prizes, participation online via CIS if you cannot make it in person. Competing products include Clipper, Blinker, Cobol, Macintosh, 4th Dimension, FoxPro, Advance Revelation, DataEase, dBase IV and many more. For more information log onto CompuServe and download DCMP92.ZIP from the DBA forum, library 1. The competition is held in conjunction with the Software '92 Seminar which features workshops relating to software marketing, personnel, exporting, legal concerns and software design. Advertisements are now appearing for the effort in Databased Advisor Magazine and Midnight Engineering Magazine. By the way, North Carolina is home of over 1,000 software development companies. Many cluster in what is known as the Research Triangle Park. Attendance estimates are for 180 developers from around the world to be there as well as 500 regional developers, 2,000 corporate representatives and about 600 attendees for panel discussions such as Borland, Microsoft and Nantucket. More info: Droege Computing, 1816 Front St, Ste 130, Durham, NC 27705. 919/383-9749. Speaking of Droege Computing, note an interesting trend. That company started in medical software development but has branched rapidly into shareware and now offers a large variety of packages and a unique medical shareware catalog with over 100 titles. If you are providing medical shareware, send Droege a disk soon. Their catalog can be obtained for $4.95. Also note that Droege now produces a 23 page monthly newsletter for their customers which discusses uses for software and shareware in their medical market niche. A nicely researched article in the most current edition presents the use of W. Edwards Deming's 15 quality points as applied to software development. Hot issue. Contact Droege for a copy. Author submissions should be directed to Mike Hillerbrand. Vendor tip.... A few weeks ago my good friend Fred Howard asked how he would go about obtaining names and addresses of new computers owners. A useful question which both authors and vendors seeking new customers for catalog mailings have probably pondered. There are a LOT of ways this could be done, but a simple route which should work is covered in my response back to Fred: Probably the BEST way to accomplish request is to dig through large magazine like COMPUTER SHOPPER and pull out good list of middle and small size computer sellers in states like Florida, Arizona, California, Texas (high density states, lots of retirees, high consciousness of technology). Next type in addresses to a database and compose a short note for final output on cheap postcards. Your note says you are SMALL software programmer willing to buy mailing list of new computer owners and willing to pay xx cents per name for list. Your purpose is to mail samples of your software and if they have questions, you will mail the computer store in question a sample of your software so they can be sure this is not a poor quality offering. Mail out about 250 cheap postcards and I'll bet you would get 5 or ten responses from computer sellers and VARS. Let's talk about shareware authors.... Former ASP president Paul Mayer is a sharp cookie. Paul uses a little technology to make his home operated business seem large and professional. An old XT is equipped with a Big Mouth voice- mail board handles all incoming calls. Callers first receive a welcome message and are then invited to press touchtone button 2 for order placement, 3 for pricing, 4 for tech support (this option actually leads to a recorded message giving the 900 number/pay for support) or 5 for pre-sale enquiries (which Paul answers personally.) If Paul is away from the office, the voice- mail says all lines are busy and offers to take the customer's telephone number noting that a call will be returned in about 20 minutes. The computer then dials Paul's pocket pager which alerts Paul to call in for the message. Paul unloads the message using a password code which accesses the voice-mail system. The machine also has an audible speaker which Paul can use to answer calls immediately or allow the machine to process. Pretty Neat. Source: PC Shareware Magazine, April 1992. Shareware author Fred Howard (POB 1, Ortonville, MI 48462 313/627-3111) produces some quality packages - his Typedos DOS tutorial/training system is a solid product making the rounds. He also produces Datapro which provides drills and training for data entry training. A little background is interesting. Fred was a professor of communication at the General Motors Institute from 1960 to 1970 and in 1962 started a mail order pet supply business. In 1970 he quit GMI to concentrate solely on his private enterprise and eventually built an office building and warehouse which had expanded to 4,000 square feet by 1979 and served over 250,000 customers. The man obviously knows direct mail marketing and had customers and profits to prove it! By 1983 he had sold the business and started teaching computer applications programs at the Michigan Computer institute before retiring in 1991. I mention all of this to prove a point. We have quite a few highly knowledgeable folks out there more than happy to share information and EXPERIENCED in direct mail marketing, of which shareware is only one variation. Shareware author David Berdan owns Expressware - providers of File Express and other packages. His submissions packet to disk vendors is the BEST in the business. Professional feedback postcard you send back to stay on his mailing list. Professional disks with SOLID professional labels. PRINTED BOOKLET with short, medium and long descriptions, phone numbers, company history, screen dumps of the programs, instructions for BBS and clubs, licensing requirements. Even an enclosure card explaining that disks are compressed and require unpacking commands. I wish more authors went this extra mile. Expressware obviously adds the final touches at the VENDOR end of the business as well as the customer end. One word to describe this: ORGANIZED. By the way, here's a little marketing tip that Expressware uses: if a user group or computer club publishes a review of their product in that club's newsletter, a free REGISTERED copy is sent so that a raffle or door prize can be made at the next club meeting. Pretty clever inducement, don't you think? Next, for those joining SMS for the first time, the newsletter information from the previous edition of SMS... -------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter: Spring 1992 Edition -------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle is overcast at this time of year. The pace is slow and the potted geraniums inside my house rely on an early Spring. Seattle is an improbable place for the silicon collar workers who populate the algorithm foundries at Microsoft, Aldus, Buttonware, Quicksoft and the raft of local high tech ventures who live and breathe for two reasons: produce code, market code. I usually extract core information for SMS from industry sources: shareware disk catalogs, press releases, telephone conversations with key vendors, contacts with authors and CompuServe messages. Hardcore idea surfing. It's curious, then, that the theme for this issue came from the February 19 edition of a local community newspaper, Eastside Week. A cover note promised an article on the high tech industry by Robert X. Cringley who writes for Infoworld Magazine and is, according to computer industry insiders, the ultimate computer industry insider. Cringley rarely writes about shareware. This time something buried in the article struck me. Cringley suggests you have to go back to the classic comic strip Pogo, the wise and witty possum of the Sunday comic strip which originated during a time in America when comic strips had something to say. One passage from a Pogo strip has the frazzled possum opine: "We have met the enemy and he is us." Everybody has heard this classic line at one time or another. But it is the next panel which reveals something about shareware. Pogo simply observes, "We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunity." Here's what I deduce from Chairman Pogo: The computer industry is the penultimate high frontier. It is where we are heading and will continue to head into the near and distant future. By obvious connection, shareware will continue to play an explosively larger role as more people acquire VERY inexpensive computers. 40 million computers are in consumer hands with more soon to be purchased. The insurmountability in this equation is that commercial software has the high ground while shareware, with its higher value and broader selection, languishes in relative marketing obscurity. That may be changing, however. If we can fix the problems, that is. For authors, an "insurmountability factor" arises from the vast quantity of shareware packages in place with which they MUST compete. A contrarian approach offers stunning market potential. Careful niche market research for untapped buyers and poorly programmed packages reveals financial return in tantalizing proximity. The same goes for shareware disk vendors who can spot a precise niche amidst the hundreds of other vendors. There are only two choices in this business: grow or decline. There are no plateaus. Shareware can be volatile. And lucrative. An opportunity factor involves a key window of time: one or two years. The time it takes any vendor or author to stay in the saddle with a package or vending operation before financial return kicks in. You can get into shareware for a few pennies. But for large income potential you have to STAY in and market cleverly. In some ways shareware is not yet a commodity item. In other ways it has moved past commodity status to a higher marketing frontier: anyone can play the game now that compilers, computers and a little cash is all it takes to do shareware. Insurmountable change. As soon as you have finished coding your package, printing your vendor catalog and shipping your orders, a newer compiler, mailing list, stack of author disk submissions or whatever puts you back at square one. No sooner have you finished the job when, insurmountably, you must start improving again. Excrutiating change. Probably faster than the commercial software market. Which can be an opportunity to leave your competitors in the dust if you think about it. Don't ignore the opportunity factor. The rates of return on shareware disk vending and authoring can be VERY good. 500% to 1000% markup or return on investment is not uncommon to hot vending and programming operations. There can never be ONE Bill Gates of the shareware industry when in fact MANY of us can become Bill Gates simultaneously. Another insurmountable opportunity. The try before you buy nature of shareware. How can authors REALLY encourage users to register the shareware they use? There are ways. In a future edition of SMS we'll discuss some options. For shareware USERS insurmountable opportunity also arises from too many shareware packages to compare, too much atrocious documentation, too many bugs and too much opportunity for a really great package to be lost for lack of adequate marketing. And that sinking feeling that computers and shareware can produce vast productivity increases but the average user cannot understand common shareware fixtures like self-extracting files, readme documentation and authors who have moved with no forwarding address. This could be the lingering insurmountable opportunity which continues to weaken this business - I don't see many folks repairing the damage in this area. Not the BBS systems, not the computer clubs, not the ASP and not the vendors. Shareware is GREAT stuff. Unfortunately that isn't good enough, given the state of the industry from the user's perspective. Even this is an opportunity for the right vendor or author. Here I would have to change the wording from insurmountable opportunity to inevitable opportunity. Pogo was half right and half wrong. For the record, Robert X. Cringley's book is aptly titled Accidental Empires: How the boys of Silicon valley make their millions, battle foreign competition and still can't get a date. Published by Addison Wesley. Get a copy if you want to understand the computer industry and where it will be in the years ahead. Cringley, a former journalism professor at Stanford reveals that in fact Robert X. Cringley is a pseudonymn and in fact the third person to write under that byline for Infoworld. Other tantalizing Cringley insights include the following: "Marketing is the stimulation of long term demand by solving customer problems . . . . Four major trends are about to shift PC users into warp speed: standards-based computing, RISC processors, advanced semiconductors, and the death of the mainframe." Where does this fit into the shareware scheme of things? A pattern emerges: Cringley asserts the mainframe will fade from history at exactly midnight, December 31, 1999 because original program source code for millions of dollars of mainframe software has been lost in shifting from one mainframe to another after years of use. Many of these mission critical software programs have key algorithms missing which can deal with date changes from the 20th to 21st century. Original mainframe programmers did not suspect that their programs would outlive them. This is serious stuff with a mainframe payroll or accounting system. The mainframe date algorithm bug and the lack of source code virtually dooms many mainframes since businesses will have to trash their software, start from scratch with new source code and move to a desktop, mini or microcomputer environment. Either that or attempt "digital archeology" by reverse engineering and updating antique code. Cringley is on to something that sounds very beneficial for the shareware industry. Mainframes will fade. Desktops will blossom. And everyone will be scrounging for GOOD software. As we approach the year 2000, chips will be faster and smaller than our current workhorse CPU's. This will be VERY good for shareware. The more people who have computers, the more shareware opportunities there will be. Simple logic tells us that shareware, for reasons of cost, availability and no-nonsense "try before you buy" licensing will eventually grab greater market share - if author's and vendors don't muddle things too badly in the meantime. The state of the art Intel 80486 contains 1.2 million transistors. The 80586 will have three million transistors. Extrapolating out, and there are no technical reasons why this is not possible, we could have 96 million transistors on a CPU chip by the year 2,000 - according to Cringley. The processing power dropped in our laps will be off the scale. With this much power one can hardly imagine the type of shareware we will be able to create. And sell. Turning the news about advanced silicon chips upside down, my suspicion is that commercial software companies will suddenly find small shareware companies as competitors in a global market since chips, programming languages, exploding niche market opportunities and new interfaces will create even more wealth for astute shareware authors and vendors. Cringley also chronicles the decline of new blood in the software and hardware industry which indirectly spells more good news for the shareware sector. The pioneers who develop operating systems and hardware are in their middle age. New university graduates and immigrant engineers only flesh out an existing technical force. It's not that we have too much old blood, it's that shareware will become the underlying software plasma as talented programmers find that, with the right marketing mix, there really is money to be made in shareware. If they are willing to REALLY work at it. Let's conclude by saying all signs point to a busy horizon for shareware. Three things will count for success in the shareware industry: 1) Product quality, 2) marketing savvy and 3) global connections to agents, authors and vendors. Let's move away from the future and into the present . . . Several news items popped up on my desk which will have SIGNIFICANT impact on the shareware industry. The recent implementation by CompuServe of a new basic rate package priced at a flat $7.95 per month will bring DRAMATIC change to the shareware industry. If authors and vendors see the potential, that is. The new flat rate package allows for transmission of about 60 messages per month to Compuserve members plus receiving an unlimited number of messages. Similar messaging capabilities allow you to send a FAX anywhere in North America - including Mexico and Canada - for about $1.00 per page using your modem to transmit an ASCII file; no need to own a FAX machine or FAX board! This change alone could allow authors and vendors to "dicker and deal" on a global scale for SERIOUS financial return! Until now the "pay as you go" plan at CompuServe has deterred many shareware authors and vendors from frequent messaging. Information sharing and timely market flow is the lifeblood of any software marketing strategy. The picture of a global shareware community of authors and vendors able to keep in touch inexpensively is now a REAL possibility. For example, two days after I converted my membership to the new plan, I began sending FREQUENT messages to Steve Lee, British publisher of PC Shareware Magazine as well as Nick Thompson, UK shareware agent for many authors. We'll talk more about Nick and Steve later, but the point is that I am contacting key shareware movers and shakers in the United Kingdom for pennies in communication costs compared to the equivalent FAX, postal, telephone or old CompuServe pricing system. Bytes don't get much cheaper than this. Obviously CompuServe designed the package in response to similar flat rate deals at America Online and Prodigy, but this new package which also includes access to other basic services such as Grollier's Online Encyclopedia, Peterson's college search database, Consumer Reports, news, weather, games, shopping and their incredibly useful CompuServe Magazine. By the way, my personal CIS ID number is: 72020,2176 if you need to drop me a note. CompuServe can be reached at 800/848-8199 or 800/848-8990. 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd, Columbus, OH 43220. More good news department: The new shareware magazine, Shareware Update, debuts early this Spring under the management auspices of shareware vendor Software Excitement! currently based in Central Point, Oregon. The publication will be edited by respected industry columnist Bud Sadler, who was formerly senior editor of three computer magazines in the IDG chain: PC GAMES, PC LAPTOP, and COMPUTERS IN SCIENCE. Bud was also chief copy editor for BYTE Magazine. Shareware Update Magazine, POB 2454, White City, OR 97503-9901. Writers, shareware news and submissions are actively sought. Financed by Software Excitement's solid cash flow and extensive customer mailing lists, Shareware Update Magazine is off to a solid start with subscription cards offering a free trial issue to be included in a Spring 1992 mailing to approximately 1.2 million recipients of newly revised Software Excitement! catalogs. Actual catalog printing was 1.5 million. In addition, 100 thousand Shareware Update subscription promotion cards will be placed in the May COMPUSERVE MAGAZINE. This is VERY serious marketing. The new magazine will be about 30 pages and will be eventually offered to everyone on a 500,000 count mailing list which Software Excitement! maintains. This in house mailing list and existing catalog mailing allows Shareware Update to promote its first printing affordably - at a cost of about $10,000 to print and bind subscription promotion cards in the existing Software Excitement! catalogs - compared to about $340,000 for a similar effort which would include printing, postage and name list rental for a comparable magazine promotion not having access to Software Excitement's existing resources. The seven new catalogs from Software Excitement! include: IBM Prospect, IBM House, IBM Windows, IBM Games, Macintosh, Apple, and Amiga. All display colorful screen dumps of shareware packages. One catalog specializes in windows only applications while others relate to games, utilities and business applications. Software Excitement! specializes in a limited offering of the best shareware and produces small, colorful catalogs mailed out to approximately 8 million PC users annually. Software Excitement! has 50 employees in two locations and $6 million in annual sales. Current reports are that the Windows-only catalog is outpulling all other catalogs as a percentage of catalogs shipped. Screen dumps of shareware programs outpull orders for disks 2 to 3 times compared to programs listed without screen dumps! Since going to color, order volume has risen 10%. For the volume of catalogs printed, color did not cost more compared to one or two color catalog printing, according to industry sources. Note that Software Excitement! can also process registration fees for shareware packages via an online CompuServe catalog of REGISTERED shareware packages. Includes credit card processing, 800 toll free order service, CompuServe email, FAX or telephone notification to the author of orders, payment checks each Friday. Cost to author is 20% commission (minimum $4.00) per package. Other options include author drop shipping or processing through Software Excitement! warehouse - with SE! paying the shipping costs in the latter case. Agreement can be terminated by giving 30 days notice. Contact SE! for an application form. This issue of SMS adds a large number of key overseas and foreign shareware contacts to main list of vendors (DATABASE.EXE). Nick Thompson of the Thompson Partnership in the United Kingdom and Francis Burns of The Langway Company in France are to be thanked for providing this information. The new second edition of WRITING AND MARKETING SHAREWARE by ASP author Steve Hudgik is now out. A revised and expanded classic which all shareware authors should read. Tips on registrations, pricing, copyrights, testing, documentation and quality. 304 pages. 25 illustrations. ISBN 0-8306-2552-6. $18.95 plus $3.00 shipping from the Steve Hudgik, POB 974, Tualatin, OR 97062. VOICE: 503/692-3732 FAX: 503/692-0382. Steve is also in the final stages of summarizing the results of this year's shareware author survey and may supply results to SMS readers in the future. This survey plots the trends of what is REALLY happening for shareware authors and makes for fascinating reading and a reality check on the profits and pitfalls of shareware authorship. Dave Beiter of Ritner, Kentucky, again shares with us an update to his DOLL vendor rating system in the letters to the editor section in this edition of SMS. If you want to see how your favorite vendor stacks up against the HARD COLD LIGHT OF TRUTH, see Dave's vendor rating system. Dave has told me in the past that the SMS vendor rating system (A, B, C) is not quite the REAL truth. Dave's system of rating vendors is, shall we say politely, the NAKED truth. The file CAVEDATA.EXE contains a larger superset of the data sorted three ways: by vendor name, vendor quality ranking and vendor responsiveness. Deep regrets department: I must note with some sadness that the beautifully crafted Alternative Software Bulletin Magazine (Binary Press, Brooklyn, MI) will be ending publication soon or merging with another shareware magazine. According to editor, Steve Enzer, the costs of printing, marketing and advertising have driven the magazine to less than profitable conditions. The magazine's detailed reviews of shareware packages were and remain some of the best in the business. According to Steve, current readers will have the remainder of their subscriptions transferred to PC-SIG-affiliated Shareware Magazine. Steve plans to continue writing articles for the shareware industry and we wish him every success. What's new in technology? Three items briefly. The Multibus Manufacturer's Group has been working on a new telecommunications/computer technology called "hot swap". Meaning? You can pull a card out of a system while running and swap in another without affecting operations in progress. Ideal for task sensitive critical data installations and routine maintenance. Micro Industries (Westerville, OH) already has products in the works. Intel and Siemens are working on the concept also. Sharp Electronics of Japan has signed a deal with Intel to build an $800 million chip fabrication line for Intel flash memory chips in Japan. Intel will market the chips in America with Sharp distributing the resulting chips in Japan. Flash memory will be very central to computers and software in the future. Ironically, Toshiba invented the technology of flash memory but Intel developed the concept and pushed it to global market in the most cost effective manner. Want to REALLY protect your system from virus damage? New idea from Trend Micro Devices Inc, Torrance, CA (800/228-5651) provides clever system protection by use of both memory resident software and "immunizer" hardware plug which mates to your PC's parallel port and contains a NONVOLATILE EEPROM chip which stores copies of your system boot sectors and partition tables on an ongoing basis. Real clever idea. Do these developments affect shareware? Not immediately, but you do get a sense that the future is racing towards us quickly and should be here in the next ten or fifteen minutes . . . Note that I have removed one category and created a new category in the SMS mailing list. If you use the SMS mailing list, you will be familiar with the fact that type "B" means BBS while type "D" means shareware distributor. The old "A" category is gone. It has been merged into the new category type "K" for Key shareware contact. Perhaps a better description is the folks who represent the "Who's Who" in the shareware industry. Since some of these people are agents, brokers, translators and other entities, we need a new type. Also note that the type field can now have MORE than one digit. For example, you might see type K,D meaning key contact who is a distributor. Or possibly type K, a key person. Or type K,B,D key bulletin board who is also a disk distributor. To locate all the key movers and shakers, simply request that your database search for all type "K" entries where the letter K appears ANYWHERE in the field. I guarantee you'll find some surprising contacts. And if you can suggest any new entries for type "K", please do so! I might be tempted to offer a registered SMS edition if you can provide sufficient quantity and quality for the new type "K" data entry. Reread the SMS file DATABASE.TXT for explanation of the mailing list. Note that Bob Ostrander, founder of Public Brand Software has been elected as President of the Association of Shareware Professionals. Inside sources reveal that a bit of rough sailing was encountered since Bob initially announced his intention to resign from the ASP Board of Directors in an open letter on the ASP's CompuServe forum. The three part message noted the problems Bob had experienced with the board and chairman Barry Simon who has since departed the board. Bob is a fundamental NICE GUY within the shareware industry and I think we can expect to see some positive energy and overdue changes in the ASP in the year ahead. Bob continues to run his new venture, Software Coop, as well as plan for the Summer Shareware Seminar in Indianapolis this Summer, plus act as a consultant to Public Brand Software, now owned by Ziff Davis. Apparently Bob has more energy than an 80486 processor without surge protection. Page ten of the March 1992 of PC Shareware Magazine (UK edition) shows photo of Bob with appropriate beer bottle and large grin - I think the ASP is going to rediscover a long overdue need: FUN. Bob shared with me the tentative agenda of the Summer Shareware Seminar which I will reprint a bit later in this newsletter. A letter crossed my desk from shareware author Terry Towle of Antioch, TN a few weeks ago. It is reprinted in unabridged form in the SMS letters section. A couple of paragraphs illustrate an UNDERUSED marketing method: vertical marketing. The point: if you are an author who religiously submits disks to vendors, clubs and BBS systems, you may be missing the mark by miles. Consider the POWERFUL MARKETING LESSON here. Dear Jim, You and your readers may be able to benefit from my experiences and avoid my mistakes. The first shareware program I wrote is titled SP-FOOTING. It designs reinforced concrete spread footings. Footings are what support buildings for all you people who don't care that much about construction/engineering. Talk about a vertical market! How did I go about marketing it? I uploaded it to 7 BBS's that had engineering sections in various parts of the country on 2/22/91. I also sent it to 7 disk vendors on 2/22/91. Results as of today - two registrations, one in September '91 and one in December '91.It took 7 months to get my first check -but it was SO SWEET! It took 10 months to get the second check. How did I do with the shareware vendors? LOUSY. What went wrong? 1. I wrote a program that would only interest structural engineers and maybe a few architects. Thin vertical market! 2. Only sent it to 7 vendors and 7 BBS's. Actually only made it into one catalog that I know of. 3. Didn't bother to do any vertical marketing. 4. Program wasn't flashy with pop-up windows, pull-down menus, etc. It just gave the right answers. 5. Registration was only $20.00 which included the source code, thick bound manual and handworked examples. The copying and postage costs ate up most of the $20.00. Lucky I didn't sell more. 6. Gave up on shareware vendors. WHAT I DID RIGHT: 1. Program was tested by several registered professional engineers before being released. 2. Documentation was extensive and accurate. 3. Included handworked verification problems so users could follow my methodology. 4. Gave them something substantial for their registration fee. My second effort was a Lotus 123 template that did earthwork cut/fill calculations. You would have thought I learned my vertical market lesson. Some people are just hard-headed, but at least I had a use for the program. I uploaded it on the same 7 BBS's and sent a copy to PBS back in November '91. Never heard from PBS, no registrations to date and although I only asked $10.00, I don't expect any now. Think about it - who is going to register a template?! My third effort and PAY ATTENTION, this could open up a market of free advertising for you. In my construction work I use a scheduling program extensively. I wrote a small program that makes life a little easier for people using the program. Not much, just a little. It took me two weeks of spare time. They have to be using the scheduling program for a specific task only (Vertical market again!), but hey - I wrote the program to make my life easier. Anyway, the company distributes a newsletter to users of the software. I wrote the editor a short note saying I had this utility available for $20.00 to anyone interested and would the editor include it in the newsletter. I had 50 calls the first day! In 3 months I sold 70 copies to just about every major construction firm in the U.S. (end of abridged letter) To add a postscript to Terry's insights about the potential of vertical marketing, your public library carries the ever-popular Thomas Register and Contacts Influential which list industries by SIC code or type. The Thomas Register is also available online from CompuServe. Your librarian should also be able to point you to references for magazines and periodicals for any given field or industry sector. In addition, at the END of this newsletter section of SMS I have listed some online resources for specialized databases which might lead you to other industry niche markets. Speaking of authors of shareware programs, note that DB-DUPE, the SUPERLATIVE duplicate checker for mailing lists and dBase format files has recently been updated and now includes a VERY USEFUL registration bonus of DB-ZIP which cross-checks mailing lists for accuracy of zip codes! I have also included a letter from DB-Dupe author Kevin Clark in the SMS letters to editor section. You can obtain a shareware copy of DB-DUPE by checking the SMS file GOODIES.TXT. Christopher Noyes, member of our informal SMS Net author uploading group (see RAPID.TXT), is an author with an interesting program and some VALUABLE information to share about registrations he has received for his ASTRO package which provides astrology analysis. Richard has kindly shared his statistics on program source and registration totals for ASTRO which might give you some valuable marketing clues. I hope other authors will be able to share similar data with SMS in the future so that more may benefit! You can contact Richard about ASTRO or these statistics as follows: Christopher Noyes Software, 718/625-2262 718/625-2262, 28-Douglass Street, Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11231. Next follows a compilation of registration statistics: VENDOR/COMPANY QUANTITY REGIST TOTAL INCOME 3rd Eye BBS 1 $49.95 ADV SW 1 $69.95 Altamante Sprin 1 $39.95 APS 2 $111.95 BBS 47 $2,540.95 BL Software 1 $54.95 Brother 2 $69.95 Budge Shareware 1 $60.00 Byte 1 $54.95 Calif Freeware 5 $334.30 California Shar 1 $49.95 Cape Software 4 $306.95 Catalog 3 $145.85 Channel 1 2 $139.90 Choice Marketin 1 $39.95 Cloud 9 BBS 1 $69.95 Comp Mart 1 $39.95 Compute Shopper 1 $39.95 Computer Fair 11 $579.45 Computer Shoppe 1 $39.95 CWI 9 $514.50 Data Outlet SW 1 $84.95 Data Trust 1 $49.95 Deaver/Cook PD 1 $39.95 Delphi BBS 1 $65.00 Distant Market 1 $74.95 DOS Shareware 1 $52.95 Exchange BBS 1 $69.95 Exec PC BBS 1 $72.95 Finans-Butikken 1 $69.00 Firesign 3 $132.90 Florida PC Lib 1 $54.95 Fotomanual SRL 1 $39.95 FPCL 1 $39.95 FRIEND 17 $1,054.30 Gemini 49 $2,690.95 Gemini BBS 1 $69.95 Gemini Software 2 $99.90 Gift 1 $0.00 Gift from 1 $0.00 Gift to Chip Uh 1 $39.95 GIFT 1 $0.00 Guelph BBS 1 $49.95 H.G.Shareware 1 $72.95 HG Shareware 2 $102.90 HPSL 10 $499.55 Local BBS 1 $69.95 London Drugs 1 $69.95 Magazine ad? 1 $54.95 Matrix Almanac 1 $69.95 Micro-Mart 1 $44.95 P.C. Arcade 1 $54.95 P.C. Software 1 $39.95 P.D.Warehouse 1 $39.95 PC Arcade 6 $304.75 PC Serve 2 $79.95 PC Shareware 1 $39.95 PC Swap Meet 1 $69.00 PC Works 1 $55.00 PC-ARCADE 2 $119.90 PC-EXEC 1 $69.95 PC-OHIO 1 $69.95 PC-SERVE 2 $94.95 PCNL Holland 1 $55.00 PD PACS 1 $39.95 PD Shareware 1 $54.95 PD Software 2 $79.90 PD Softwarehous 6 $254.70 PD-Service 1 $60.00 Pro Softw Monte 1 $69.95 PSL 8 $442.60 Public Brand SW 1 $29.95 Raintree 1 $39.95 Rainware 11 $429.50 Referral 1 $49.00 Sector Systems 1 $72.95 Selective Software 2 $139.91 Selective Ref 1 $69.95 Seltec 7 $392.75 Shareware Labs 2 $154.90 Shareware+selec 1 $49.95 Show 1 $39.95 Shows Unlimited 1 $49.95 SIM-COM Service 1 $29.95 Softcell 1 $80.00 softw. show 1 $39.95 Software Labs 66 $4,317.75 Softwarehouse 1 $39.95 STR Computers 1 $54.95 Sun 1 $49.95 Sun Software 4 $179.80 Sunmap BBS 1 $69.95 SWAP MEET 5 $263.85 Swapmeet 1 $54.95 TSL The Software Labs 6 $402.70 UIUC.EDU archiv 1 $69.95 Unitech 1 $69.00 User BBS 1 $69.95 Walden's 1 $49.95 ALL 368 $30,163.27 Please share your registration statistics with SMS so that more authors can benefit! If necessary, identity of author can be kept confidential! Same goes for vendors who wish to publish program ordering volume. (end of statistics report) Next, a marketing opportunity for shareware vendors and authors involved in financial and spreadsheet packages. Lotus publishes a postcard pack or "deck" with advertising mailed to customers who are 62% top or middle managers in companies having more than 1,000 employees. Lotus proclaims that the folks on their mailing list - probably derived from industry sources and their own popular Lotus magazine - will buy $8.4 billion in PC hardware and $550 million in software in the next year. I've seen shareware vendors KWN systems (Freehold, NJ) and Reasonable Solutions (Medford, OR) advertise in this card deck, so there must be serious shareware purchasing potential for those using the Lotus Card Pack advertising program. Further information: Cathleen Cavanaugh, Lotus Card Pack, POB 9160, Cambridge, MA 02139-9930 617/225-6803. Perhaps the HOTTEST NEW TREND among disk vendors is rack sales. I am getting MANY calls from existing and startup disk vendors who prefer to bypass the mail order disk vending route - which is somewhat saturated anyway - and setting up or negotiating rack sales of shareware direct to consumers from small convenience stores, printshops, college bookstores, discount shopper clubs and more. This probably will be the next EXPLOSIVE expansion phase for vendors in the 90's and it raises public visibility of shareware another notch - always a good thing. Industry disk vendor PC-SIG and Shareware Magazine have fired a competitive salvo at low budget disk vendors by slashing disk prices to $2.00 in the latest issue of Shareware Magazine and including one of the largest shareware "mini-catalogs" I have seen in any recent issue of the magazine. Other recent changes at Shareware magazine have seen the recent departure of long time editor Marilyn Young and VERY recent departure of editor Claudia Graziano. Word from sources in close proximity to Shareware Magazine is that the March-April 1992 issue of the magazine was a MAD DASH effort which reflects internal changes and personnel "adjustments." On the upside, the magazine IS GETTING BETTER under new Editor-in-Chief Michael Callahan. In fact I was pleased to see a writeup on page 9 of that issue noting the Johns Hopkins award for my own PC-Learn package. On the downside no mention was made in the same issue of Shareware Magazine of the errors made in the Jan-Feb issue regarding this package, The $hareware Marketing $ystem. Although I sent a letter to the editor, reprinted in the last SMS letters section, nothing was printed to correct Shareware Magazine errors such as the erroneously reported $129 registration price for SMS. Shareware Magazine may also be facing competition from larger shareware magazines published in the UK such as Shareware Shopper and PC Shareware Magazine. It should be interesting this year to watch shareware publications evolve. Let's spin the dial and talk about news from disk vendors. Address and telephone information for the following vendors is contained in the SMS file DATABASE.EXE. Search for the address by scanning the main SMS list by company name combined with location or name of the person to contact . . . The recession in America does indeed affect our industry. SMS reader Richard Bonin of Kernersville, NC reports that the large disk vendor PD Select of Gastonia, NC has gone out of business. Richard spoke to the PD Select owner in December 1991 when staff had been reduced from 8 to 2. By late January or early February, 1992 the phone had been disconnected and mail directed to PD Select was being returned. The main SMS mailing list has been revised to reflect the change. Small details make all the difference. Disk vendor Shareware Plus of Carmichael, CA sent me their latest catalog and note requesting input and corrections to my program listings. But the nice marketing wrinkle they add is $1.00 gift certificates in exchange for address of each PC compatible user referral you send them. In addition, they motivate users to REGISTER SHAREWARE by offering the choice of one additional free disk for each program registered with any author. Shareware Plus is a vendor with a small but well organized catalog. I urge authors to send them a disk and put them on your quality vendor disk update mailing list. Hope other vendors see the wisdom in these small, but nice marketing touches. New vendor with THREE LOCATIONS and good registration potential is Discount Computers which maintains locations in Monroe, Middletown and Miamisburg, Ohio. According to President Edwin Morrow, this vendor retails computers as well as carrying about 350 shareware titles. A file is installed on all disks explaining both HOW and WHY shareware should be registered. Suggest you send them a disk! to their central Middletown, Ohio office. New shareware vendor on the scene: Southern Enterprises of Marion, VA. Owners Roger and Barbara Boardwine promise professional distribution in quantity, explanation of the need to register for customers who use shareware and courtesy catalog sent to each author so that program description can be checked. Drop them a disk in the mail soon. New vendor with hot market potential. Send a disk to GOOD TIMES HOME VIDEO CORP of New York. Large chain of video rental stores setting up rack display sales throughout their chain! Mr. Kris Thomson is the contact person. I recently received a large envelope with a coop mailing from Bill Dickson, president of SHAREABLE SOFTWARE who arranges coop mailings for groups of authors. Coop is the way to go for many small authors and you might want to contact Shareable since their enclosures and VENDOR QUESTIONANNAIRE are slick and very professional. See detailed press release from Shareable later in this newsletter. Their address also in the mailing list database. Another new disk vendor entry for your disk submission is FACTORY DIRECT of Metairie, LA. Mr. Doug Ellingson is getting their operation up to speed and URGES authors to submit a disk! They promise to actively promote to their customers in the Louisianna area. Good potential and they seem honest and sensitive to author needs and responsiveness. Vendor with ORIGINAL IDEAS: Professionware of St. Petersburg, FL. Features most current version of shareware packages, full ACCURATE descriptions of shareware programs direct from the author, RETAIL RACK SALES PROGRAM, UNIQUE VOICE MAIL catalog so that customers can call in and hear about the program IN THE AUTHOR'S OWN VOICE and mailbox for authors at no charge with message length up to five minutes. The voice mail message about the program from each author is set so it can be UPDATED so authors can run registration specials, comments about new program updates, etc. Professionware can also record the message for the author if preferred. Contact Dean Vander Woude, President, Professionware. Clever idea! And not to be outdone in the ORIGINAL IDEAS department you might want to make note of another new vendor with some REALLY NEW concepts. THE SHAREWARE CLUB of Duvall, Washington is on to something. Authors can set up a special free BBS account with this vendor which provides: Sales tracking - vendor tracks your shareware sales and posts it to YOUR email box on their BBS, includes info on whether customer purchased via mail order or downloaded. Product returns - find out if your disk was returned by dissatisfied customers. Customer support - consult your email box if customers complain of problems running or installing the program. Monthly newsletter - shareware reviews, new releases, updates. AUTHORS CAN WRITE ARTICLES FOR THE NEWSLETTER - submit articles on disk or post via email. Altogether a pretty hot package. As a side note, observe that this startup is located in Duvall, Washington - home of industry giant Gemini Marketing and shareware author operation Expressware. Something unique is cooking in this tiny town! Duvall is sprouting into a "mini- shareware" marketing and development hub. Lawrence Backstrom is Director of Marketing at The Shareware Club which also prefers to use a pre-printed author submission form to aid processing of submitted disks. A new BBS and disk vendor has popped up who specializes in investment related and financial shareware: RGJ Systems of Provo, Utah. Send SYSOP Bob Jarvis a disk if your shareware fits that particular niche! Addresses for BBS systems are pretty rare, so this is a nice addition to the SMS mailing list! Bob is editing and publishing an investment newsletter distributed on the Wall Street West BBS which also includes integrated communications and newsletter viewing software. Advantage Plus Distributors have several new products for startup disk vendors. Review the following press release. Advantage Plus can be reached at 813/885-1478 and is also listed in the SMS database. Their Shareware Solutions CDROM is a complete shareware distribution business for storefront, mail order, network or BBS use and includes both a CD as well as disk-based catalog. Ownership of the CD includes license for BBS and business use. Quality disk selections are reproduced exactly as received from the authors. Includes easy to customize floppy Disk Catalog containing entries describing nearly 3,000 disks of software direct from authors. 80% are less than one year old. Disk descriptions include performance rating and hardware requirements. Expands to over 2 Gigabytes. Published quarterly. $149/single issue or $400/year. Why spend hours and $$$ to assemble a disk library when $149 gets you into the disk vending business? Advantage Plus has also released a three CD set of over 2,500 shareware programs, most direct from the author for those wishing to retail CD-ROM disks to the public. Each CD is easy to use, network friendly, contains directory program of contents and individual program requirements. CD's include Education Master CD-ROM with over 1,000 education program. Game Master CD- ROM with over 500 games. Business Master with over 1,000 business related programs. Introductory reseller pricing begins at $60 for two sets of 3 CD's (6 CD's total.) Droege Computing of Durham, North Carolina is an unusual vendor who is new to disk vending. Originally specializing in consulting and training for the medical and technical industry, Droege is releasing a dazzling catalog of over 125 shareware programs, many with a medical focus plus a large variety of general utilities and mainstream applications. The core focus of the library of shareware will be medical software - an area in which Droege has long excelled with custom vertical market applications. Authors are urged to submit their packages whether medical or not - all categories welcome! Contact Mike Hillerbrand. GAMES vendor for authors writing for the games/entertainment market: GameKing of Huron, OH. Keith Vlasak, owner. Authors working in this market should submit a disk to Keith. New vendor in Ravenna, Ohio who offers retail shareware, mail order, BBS and sells computers: Dave's Place. Vendor for those interested in the Philippines market: Mr. Eduardo Guzman of E & J Global Enterprises. Can handle registrations and vending. Staying with the international market, in New Zealand a good disk vendor is HAMSOFT which began as a Ham Radio or Amateur Radio club some years ago and got involved with shareware in a big way. A focus of the group remains amateur radio - a good marketing channel for authors focused on this market niche. Their library grows at the rate of about 25 to 50 disks per month according to club coordinator Anthony Briggs. A menu driven catalog is available and virus checking is rigidly enforced. Users are frequently informed to register programs which are in use. A cover screen to this effect is added to all disks. Send them a copy of your disk! Another hot outlet for your disks submissions in the international market is the large Computer Time Store in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. This computer retail store also features shareware and actively encourages author submissions. Contact Marianne Farmer at Computer Time. ASP disk vendor Shareware Outlet is expanding again with new stores in Ogden, Utah (3880 Kiesele Ave, South Ogden, UT 84405 801/399-1100) and Corvallis, Oregon (101 - 21st St NW at Monroe, Corvallis, OR 97330 503/758-5424). New and improved best of Shareware Outlet catalogs are slimmer, feature more new shareware and better organization. Top programs have expanded descriptions and moved to front of catalog. Older programs have slimmed or one line descriptions and positioned at back of catalog. A new BBS system (The BBS or TBBS) has replaced the old system which can still be reached at 206/646-0886. Authors should keep disks updated with the corporate office in Bellevue, Washington. The new Public Brand Software catalog is out - Vol 8, No 1. Clean graphic look which reflects the continuing upgrade by new owner Ziff-Davis. The new Ziff-Davis "look and feel" is also seen in the large back page advertisement for the PC Computing Guide to shareware, another Ziff publication written by Preston Gralla. Turning the pages of the catalog, some informational tidbits jumped out worth sharing. On page 31 of the catalog PBS notes some good ideas for shareware which needs creation: Hotel/motel/resort reservation system, speed reading course, graphics-based stamp cataloguer, daycare center records billing, nursing home management, windows laser printer controller, autocad libraries, postscript tools for pascal and C, needlecraft/quilting layout, budgeting system for movie/video production, backup/restore system which runs in background. Also note the continuing popular PBS submission contest which awards either $100 worth of disks or $50 worth of disks for newly submitted programs. As mentioned in earlier editions of SMS, Public Brand will be hosting the second annual Summer Shareware Seminar June 19 through 21 in Indianapolis, IN. Detailed information on the Seminar including agenda and awards Banquet can be found at the end of this article and were submitted by Bob Ostrander via CompuServe link as TENTATIVE working schedules at the time this edition of SMS was published. Computer Outlet, disk vendors in Orlando, Florida have also sent along their updated catalog which has grown to over 65 pages. I am using their new author advertising system which allows shareware programmers to purchase advertising space immediately below their program listing in the Computer Outlet catalog. Full, half and quarter page advertising space is also available. This is a good idea which gets authors greater visibility and helps vendors subsidize catalog costs. Computer Outlet is also moving into CD ROM titles at fairly attractive savings. Everything from the CIA world book to a 21 volume encyclopedia. Tsunami Software of Redondo Beach, CA has a BRILLIANT IDEA. $100 instant credit form for shareware customers. Works like this. Fill out the credit application on the back of their catalog. First time customers require $25 payment with order. Thereafter pay just $25 per month on outstanding balance. No annual fee. No interest payments. Must be 21. No available in Alaska, Hawaii or outside continental US. Neat idea! Wish more vendors did this. Niche market disk vendor of the month award to: Shareware Source of Greenville, SC. Owner Pete Steveson offers shareware disks to the market for HOME SCHOOLING PARENTS (teaching children at home) and also school conventions across the country. Pretty amazing niche! Send him a disk if your shareware fits his profile! Disk Vendor Kevin King of Disk-Count Data in Sacramento, CA has a few worthy marketing wrinkles. His BBS system, MY FAVORITE BBS, (clever name!) maintains a test description file on each program in the author's own words. Many descriptions are over 30 lines long. No membership fee and first time users can call and download on the first use. Kevin's program, FOR HOME AND PROFIT, which includes interesting money making ideas is moving well through vendors, but over 80% of the followup on that package is through BBS echo mail. Kevin thinks that BBS systems probably move and REGISTER a higher percentage of shareware than any other channel. Whenever Kevin sees a new upload pop up on his board, he WRITES the author asking for permission to distribute the package and a late update if applicable. One author from Georgia was so impressed they called long distance to Kevin's board to upload their program which took a solid twenty minutes of connect time at their expense. Kevin also sent along a few additions to the BBS list for the Sacramento area which have been added to the SMS mailing list for all authors to share. Send a disk to the Atlanta PC Users Group Librarian Stanley Plager in Stone Mountain, GA. The group is one of the largest clubs in Georgia and also maintains a BBS with over a gigabyte of online storage. ASP vendor. The Organization of Shareware Writers and Distributors located in Union City, California solicits memberships from interested vendors and program submissions from authors. Fees solicited are $250 for basic vendor membership. $350 for advanced vendor membership and $450 for deluxe vendor membership. Member services include discount pricing on labels, displays and diskettes, a monthly mailing service, new program releases, support, free access to a toll free BBS ($18.00 per hour for program downloading), capability to advertise affiliation with the organization including cutouts, logo and .com file with membership information suitable for copying to saleable diskettes. Contact Mr. Vance Venable or Mr. Benjamin Drake. Finally, San Diego disk vendor Soft A'Ware is moving further into the rack sales arena along with other vendors. Owner George Van Valkenburg is establishing outlets on the east coast with rack sales in a variety of retail outlets. Initial estimates are that the local retail store will earn 20% on sales, the local vendor who supplies the retail outlet will receive 20% and Soft A'Ware will receive the balance less costs. Next a quick tip for those interested in disk submissions to BBS systems. LARGE BBS located near a university campus of over 45,000 students. The Voice in Stadium Village BBS, POB 14786, Minneapolis, MN 55414-0786 BBS Tel: 612/378-0946. Adding to news from the BBS community, note that THE BBS CALLERS DIGEST can be obtained by calling 800/822-0437. A monthly magazine of about 40 pages dedicated to the modem user/BBS caller. Loads of shareware reviews by Uncle Hank, caller profiles by Lana Fox, RelayNet articles by Mike Brunk, TBBS by Phil Becker, PCBoard represented by Richard Kozik and Steve Catmull. News releases, books, BBS info and more. Our thanks to Uncle Hank's Shareware Review Newsletter for this tip. Women in shareware. There are some SMART women in shareware out there, for example Diana Gruber, senior programmer at Ted Gruber Software and Darlene Wagner of disk vendor Wagner Enterprises. With that focus in mind here is a quick tip for women considering shareware and needing a resource: The federal Small Business Administration partially funds 25 demonstration centers nationally which advise women entrepreneurs who want to start or grow a small business. Small fees are charged but are well worth it. Most centers offer one-to-one counseling on all aspects of business from raising money to accounting to marketing. A free list of the 25 demonstration centers can be obtained by contacting SBA, Office of Women's Business Ownership, Demonstration Project Sites, 409 Third St SW, Washington DC 20416. Money saving tip. I have mentioned this disk supplier before, but a repeat is necessary. Want to purchase USED recyclable diskettes VERY affordably? Example: fourteen or fifteen cents per 5-1/4 inch floppy? Contact Ann Deaver Enterprises, 2897 Gavilan Drive, San Jose, CA 95148 408/274-5795. Ann purchases overruns and previously used disks which are BETTER quality than cheapie disks from most media suppliers. Ann's disks have better surface gloss, lubrication, and lower error rates than second rate disks from China and Taiwan. All you do is slap a blockout label (which Ann can also supply) over the original disk label and you are in business. Here's something simple related to shareware marketing for authors and vendors. Dress up your 6 x 9 inch paper disk mailing envelopes with a little printed message! My following batch file uses a standard utility (printc from the Scanlon SEBFU batch file utility set) to send printer control codes to output double high, double wide advertising messages on the face of disk mailing envelopes. You can use just about any printer control code utility similar to printc. I actually have a huge linked batch file print registration letters, registration number, diskette sleeve messages and so forth. Notice how different typefaces are used on my panasonic 1124 printer as I proceed down the face of the 6 x 9 inch envelope. By the way, you can order the SEBFU batch file utility set containing PRINTC from the SMS GOODIES.TXT section of SMS. Here's the batch file: rem Next line initializes prtr, sets for small typeface rem and prints return address printc 27 64 24 27 120 1 27 107 1 echo $hareware Marketing $ystem>prn echo PO Box 1506>prn echo Mercer Island, WA 98040>prn rem Next line produces a few blank lines printc 10 10 10 10 rem Next line prints postal message echo DON'T BEND: SOFTWARE - DON'T BEND: SOFTWARE>prn rem Next item skips a few lines printc 10 10 rem Next, set printer to double high, double wide, underlined printc 27 87 1 27 119 1 27 69 27 45 1 27 115 1 27 65 18 echo The $hareware Marketing $ystem is HERE!>prn echo Over 4,000 key vendor addresses and>prn echo MASSIVE Shareware Marketing Newsletter>prn echo Public Brand Software says:>prn echo "This software rates a trophy Award!">prn rem Next line forces envelope to eject printc 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 rem Next line resets printer prntc 27 64 24 rem That's all folks Shareware packages of note (many of which appear in the SMS GOODIES section) have recently been upgraded. Contact Plus, the venerable and feature-rich contact manager is now better than ever with a tutorial and host of new features. Likewise, the BOXER text editor has also been updated and is turning out to be a marketing success story for author David Hamel. See the GOODIES section for further shareware package update and release information. Fast takes in good reading. Consider grabbing the book MAKING IT ON YOUR OWN by S. Norman Feingold and Leonard Perlman, published by Acropolis Books. Over 400 cutting edge ideas for businesses and marketing you've NEVER seen before. Business ideas like computer tutoring, human spare parts matching service, divorce mediation, truffle nurseries. $12.95. Sorry I don't have an ISBN number, am assuming your book vendor can track it down for you. Next shareware notes from around the globe. Address and telephone information for following contacts in the SMS file DATABASE.EXE. George Margelis, owner of the Australian disk vending operation Budgetware sent me a nice note on CompuServe a short while ago regarding his visit to the U.S. He will be landing in San Francisco near the end of March and then driving up to Seattle April 3. Should be some interesting information exchange regarding the Aussie shareware market and the potential for authors to increase registrations since George can act as an Australian agent to handle these matters from his office in Newtown, Australia. News from my sources is that George will be launching the premier issue of his new Australian shareware magazine in March called Alternative Computing Magazine. Readers will be served in both Australia and New Zealand. I will be meeting with George and other authors during the Seattle leg of his trip, and will update you on George's insights in the next edition of SMS! George also maintains a U.S. postal address if you want to ship him a disk update inexpensively! Address in the SMS database under BUDGETWARE. France is an interesting market for software. But there are pitfalls as with any foreign software venture. A key contact in France is Mr. Francis Burns, Langway S.A.R.L Company, 7 Avenue du Granier, 38240 Meylan, France. Tel: 76411939 or 76411315. Langway, which has 3 employees, specializes in translations for industrial software development companies which make control systems, measurement devices, toll collections systems, sound and voice recording retrieval boards and so forth. However Langway can also convert software packages and translate and "localize" them for the French market. Localize is a hot word in the software and shareware international community. It means not only converting the words of your packages, but also providing suggestions for the menus, look, feel and handling of the package for a foreign user. Example: in Japan the familiar Lotus spreadsheet package is usually set to display a grid over the number display which is a "localized" preference of Japanese users. In the U.S. we usually prefer a blank screen with cell address bars above and to the left of the display. Localization is the key. Back to observations and discoveries about the French software market. Mr. Burns notes that 1) shareware is probably not a lucrative market in France. Not enough incentive to register and general distaste for shareware with its nutty menu and file conventions which vary widely from package to package. 2) French users want the package to work CLEARLY AND SIMPLY, and do not have ANY patience for fiddling around. The package MUST be in French to even warrant a glance. 3) Therefore my PC-Learn package will probably be translated and localized for France by Langway but be released as a commercial package with Langway handling advertising, sales and promotion. 4) Retail software prices in foreign countries are MUCH higher than U.S. prices. Mr. Burns speaks with some authority since he has also designed and released other software packages - for example, Astromart a commercial astrology program which has received HIGH marks in the commercial French software press. Astrology software is a BIG deal in France. Special thanks should be given to Mr. Burns who kindly shared a a list of European disk vendor addresses which have been appended to the main SMS database. I'll keep you posted on proceedings from the French quarter. I recently received a registration for my PC-Learn beginners computer tutorial from the Sultanate of Oman in the Gulf. Other authors might want to follow up on this one. Mr. Tim Hatch (Scientific Institute for English and Computers, PO Box 26717, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman) is setting up a series of courses on computers for beginners. Needs shareware for course offerings. Curiously he also asked me for permission to reprint ALL of PC- Learn onto paper for government approval of class materials. The point I read between the lines is that in Muslim Middle East countries, STRICT religion-mandated limitations are imposed on printed and transmitted materials. You might want to contact Tim if you have something pertinent to education which is shareware. Potential for further registrations as his students scatter your disk about the middle east. Want to increase your registrations AND BENEFIT YOUR FELLOW MAN? A recent letter from Peggy Ferguson, Executive Director of the STEP Program of Canada (POB 497, Lower Sackville, Halifax Co, Nova Scotia, Canada, B4C 3G4 902/865-6170 FAX: 865-6448) outlines her unique use of shareware. Peggy coordinates a non- profit Canadian government facility known as the Sackville Training and Employment Program. It is a computer assisted learning facility using the PLATO system and encourages shareware donations to help train unemployed individuals and high school dropouts. Typical courses include life and work skills, basic math, high school skills, reading, writing, science, social studies, bedford accounting, lotus, dBase, manual accounting and data entry, wordperfect, basic computer literacy. Shareware disk submissions ENCOURAGED! Switching from Canada we hop next to Britain and the UK shareware market. Nick Thompson of the Thompson Partnership is a key player on the British shareware scene. He represents U.S. and foreign authors in the U.K market and acts as a full service agent to include package distribution, promotion, packaging and registration. Current ASP president Bob Ostrander recommended I contact Nick - a noteworthy recommendation indeed. Nick was also kind enough to share an extensive list of UK shareware disk vendor addresses which have been added to the SMS database. Nick Thompson can be reached at: The Thompson Partnership, Churchcroft, Bramshall, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. ST14 5DE England Tel: +44(0)889 564601, FAX: +44 (0)889 563219 CIS: 70007,5560. I am also reprinting in the letters to the editor section the text of a blank contract which Nick uses in representing shareware authors. Very enlightening and could provide outline for your own contract design when dealing with foreign shareware agents and brokers. I am completing negotiations with Nick (via Compuserve link) to represent both PC-Learn and SMS in the UK market. Next, news regarding the Summer Shareware Seminar. Quite a bit of additional SMS news follows this information, so keep reading! From Bob Ostrander: An updated preliminary detailed schedule for the Summer Shareware Seminar follows. Please note that these people are NOT confirmed panel members except those marked >. Those marked ? are pending reply The others are just ideas based on who I expect will attend. This area is very flexible right now. The 1992 Summer Shareware Seminar in Indianapolis is a confirmed go for June 19th through the 21st. Friday and Saturday will be full days and it will conclude with more sessions on Sunday morning. Last year 210 people attended; this year we anticipate 400. This necessitates a split of the forums into two tracks. This and hosted receptions on Thurs and Fri evenings will keep everybody busy. There are planned sessions for new and experienced authors, disk distributors, BBSs, and user groups. The emphasis will be on learning how to make the business of shareware more profitable for everybody. The panel discussion format with audience participation will be retained. Scheduled for Saturday evening is a gala dinner where the Shareware Industry Awards will be presented (organized by a committee of authors). This will honor the best and most innovative shareware products over the last 10 years. More complete details of who, what, etc. will be constantly posted in ZNT:PBS section 7 and fliers will be mailed out in March. I'll be glad to give more information via email or feel free to call me at 317-856-6052 (voice) 10a-8p eastern time. Bob Ostrander Tentative schedule: Thursday, June 18 1:00p-4:00p Open house at PBS (2 miles from hotel). A shuttle bus will run from hotel lobby to PBS. 2:00p SIA Selection panel meets 7:00p-9:30p Registration open in Hotel Bar 7:00p-?? Unofficial Get-together in Hotel (ASP Sponsorship) Friday, June 19 9:30a-2:30p Registration open (Newcommer's Track) 10:00a-11:00a Writing Better Software (tips for ease of use) Tom Guthery - Animated educational series > Eric Isaacson - A86, Zipkey > Marcia Meier - PBS > Paul Mayer - Z-Pay Payroll Systems - Grab + ??? 11:15a-12:15p Hints from the Pros I (general marketing tips) > Nels Anderson - Mah Jongg, etc. > Gene Davis - Datamicro Inc - Lotto Prophet > Ross Greenberg - Software Concepts Design - Flu_Shot+ > Joe Kertschmer - Tea Time Software - TypeTrek ? Rudy Ramsey - Rams' Island Software - InContext 2:00p-3:00p Association of Shareware Professionals (the shareware trade association introduces itself > Gary Elfring - Chairman of the Board > Paul Mayer - Board of Directors > Ron Roberts - Author Membership Chairman > Eric Robichaud - Vendor Membership Chairman 3:15p-4:00p Preparing your Distribution Version (making it usable by everybody) > George Abbott - Pro*Dev Software - Pro*Dev Quote > Bob Burns - PBS > Jim Green - Software Testing Laboratories > Steven Hudgik - Homecraft > George Pulido - PC-Sig 4:15p-5:00p Writing Better Documentation (making it usable by everybody) > Steve Enzer - Alternative Software Bulletin > Jerry Olsen - free-lance writer > Rob Rosenberger - Barn Owl Software - PCF Dial > Dennis Scarff - PBS Sigrid Vaubel - PC Doctors (Experienced Track) 10:00a-11:00a Coping with Growth (becomming a full-time company) > Dave Berdan - Expressware - File Express > Gary Elfring - Elfring Soft Fonts > Paris Kariaholios - Trius - As Easy As - Randy MacLean - Formgen - Formgen > Marshall Magee - Magee Enterprises - Automenu 11:15a-12:15p Publicity from the Writers Viewpoint (hints from experts) > Michael Callahan - Shareware Magazine > Preston Gralla - Ziff Publications > Steve Townsley - PC Shareware Magazine (UK) ? Trudy Neuhaus - Ziff Publications > Paul Mullen - free-lance writer > Jerry Olsen - free-lance writer 2:00p-3:00p Public Relations (advertising - free and paid) > Rozalia Deborde - Hooper International - TCB > Ross Greenberg - Software Concepts Design - Flu_Shot+ ? Lisa Landa - Ziff Communications > Jim Perkins - Formgen - Formgen 3:15p-5:00p Hints from the Pros II (more hints and tips (and a break in the middle) ? Sidney Bursten - Sub Rosa - VP Info > Rozalia Deborde - Hooper International - TCB > Paris Karahalios - Trius - As Easy As > Dave Berdan - Expressware - File Express > Marshall Magee - Magee Enterprises - Automenu > Scott Miller - Apogee Software Productions - Keen > Jim Perkins - Formgen - Formgen > Tom Rawson - J.P. Software - 4DOS > Sandy Schupper - Brown Bag Software ? Bob Wallace - Quicksoft - PC-Write 5:30p-10:00p Display Booths open 7:00p-10:00p Hosted Reception (Sponsored by PBS and Display Vendors) Saturday, June 20 9:30a-2:00p Registration open (Distributor's Track) 10:00a-11:00a The Disk Vendor Business (how to be profitable in a changing world) James Carvin - CWI > Mike Comish - Software Excitement > Jim Green - Shareware Testing Laboratories > Erv Salski - PC-Sig > Terry Ramstetter - PBS 11:15a-12:15p Interacting with Authors (for Vendors, BBSs and User Groups) > Dave Burton - PBS > Adrian Mardlin - Nildram Software - Flexiback Plus (UK) > Eric Robichaud - Rhode Island Soft Systems - Blank-It > Charles Schell - Unicorn Software - SoundZ > Dan Veaner - Emmasoft - Super-Maint 2:00p-3:00p The BBS Business (how to be profitable) > Nels Anderson - Xevious BBS Ron Brandt - Satalink Info Systems > Jay Caplan - The Consultant BBS > Jim Edwards = PBS-BBS Neil Fleming - Canada Remote Systems > Jack Rickard - Boardwatch 3:15p-4:00p CD-ROM Considerations (should you be in this market?) Dennis Burke - Quanta Press John Dilday - Advantage Plus Distributing Laura Falk - Falsoft Duane Franke - Digital Publishing (Shareware Gold) > Steve Landau - PC-Sig George Mankin - HDIS Inc. 4:15p-5:00p Rack Vending (shareware to the masses) > Bill Dickson - Shareable Software International > Jim Green - Shareware Testing Laboratories > Paul Jacobsen - Digital by Design (Author's Track) 10:00a-11:00a Going Retail (getting your product in stores) > Paris Karahalios - Trius - As Easy As > Randy MacLean - Formgen Corp - Formgen > Marshall Magee - Magee Enterprises - Automenu ? Bernie Melman - Sub Rosa - VP Info > Ron Roberts - Brightbill-Roberts - HyperPad 11:15a-12:15p Interacting with Distributors (for Authors) > Bill Dickson - Shareable Software Intl > Jay Caplan - The Consultant BBS > Bethy Couzzo - Software Excitement > Craig Kerwien - ZiffNet > Joyce Mosier - PBS Bob Sanborn - APCUG 2:00p-3:00p The International Marketplace (getting overseas representation) > Steve Lee - Shareware Publishing (UK) ? Ian Mackay - Manaccom (Australia) > George Margelis - Budgetware (Australia) > Nick Thompson - The Thompson Partnership (UK) Serge Tremont - Software International (Spain) 3:15p-4:00p Registration Incentives (what works and what doesn't) Ken Flee - Jamestown Software - QFiler > Rich Harper - RGH Software - TTime > Dave Snyder - MVP Software - Robomaze Gordon Wanner - Starlite Software - Galaxy Lite > Sandy Schupper - Brown Bag Software 4:15p-5:00p Problem Applications (tough shareware markets) Mark Haney - Klassm Software - Skyglobe > Everett Kaser - Solitile, Snarf, Sherlock > Gary McNutt - Retailware - The Retailer ? Jeannine Wolf - Browse/2 6:30p-? Eric Isaacson's First Annual Shareware Waterslide Party 7:00p-11:00p Shareware Industry Awards Dinner Sunday, June 21 10:00a-11:00a Legal Aspects of Shareware (your questions answered by an expert) > Lance Rose - Copyright and Trademark Attorney 11:15a-12:00n Technical Support (satisfying your customer) > George Abbott - Pro*Dev Software - Pro*Dev Member > Jeff Frownfelter - PBS Jim Hass - Microfox - HDM IV ? Ken Mocabee - Advanced Support Group > Steve Twonsley - Shareware Marketing (UK) ? Bob Wallace - Quicksoft - PC-Write 1:00p-3:30p ASP Membership Meeting and Luncheon End of schedule listing. Next, awards banquet details: Shareware Industry Awards ``10th Anniversary of Shareware'' Objectives P/R for the industry Recognition of achievement Encouragement of excellence/new authors Awards Custom Design High-tech look One winner only - no runners up Presented on stage Venue Adams Mark Hotel 2544 Executive Drive Indianapolis IN 46241 (317) 248-2481 Date & Time During Summer Shareware Seminar Saturday, June 20, 1992 7:00 - 8:30 dinner 8:30 - 9:30 awards 9:30 - ???? entertainment / bar Awards Night Catered banquet Dress: semi-formal Price: $20.00/person Organization SIA and SIA logo to be owned by SIA Foundation to be incorporated in Indianapolis. First Board of Directors to be composed of Steering Committee members: - Mike Callahan - Paris Karahalios - Randy MacLean - Bob Ostrander - Jim Perkins SIAF will be responsible for organizing and operating the awards as an industry-wide event on an annual basis into the future. It will also control the use of the logo, sponsorship funds and other property associated with the awards. Bob is initiating the incorporation process in Indianna. SIA Logo SIA logo has been developed by Mike Coman of Shareware Magazine. Lance Rose has undertaken to do the legal work associated with obtaining a trademark on the logo. Sponsorship Sponsors will: - have the right to associate with the awards on the Olympic model - be listed on display card at podium - be listed in the program Sponsors to date: Budgetware ....................................$1,000 FormGen Corp...................................$1,000 Hooper International...........................$1,000 Michael E. Callahan (Dr. File Finder)..........$1,000 TRIUS, Inc.....................................$1,000 Public Brand Software ....................$dinner bar Sponsorship monies to be spent on: - Award trophies - SIAF incorporation - SIA logo trademark - Decorations - Program printing - Panel meeting - Publicity (pre and post) - Professional M/C - Entertainment - Reducing the cost of the dinner - surpluses (if any) to be held for '93 awards Award Categories "Best of" awards: 1. Utilities Additional functionality for DOS, Windows, and other (including retail) programs. (ie. List, 4DOS, PKZIP, disk copiers and catalogers, menu syetems, Icon Master, Zipkey, @Last, AutoRender, PopDBF, dProg, TextOut/5, WOPR, and other Ventura, Lotus, SimCity, Mean 18, Print Shop, dBase support, etc.) 2. Major Applications DataBase Mail List Communications Spreadsheet Word Processing Form Generation 3. Graphics CAD Business Graphics Clip Art Graphics Utilities Paint Programs 4. Business and Finance Applications Accounting, bank account management, home records, stock tracking, financial calculators, specific business oriented (vertical market), etc. Vertical Marketing Investment 5. Programming Languages/Tools Both compilers and toolboxes 6. Education General and specific applications including foreign languages and computer education. Note: Teacher's gradebooks, etc. are vertical market applications 7. Entertainment 8. Home/Hobby Ham Radio, astronomy, collections databases, religion, health, cookbooks, occult, lottery, sports, genealogy, music, etc. 9. Math and Engineering Stats, Mandelbrot, linear programming, SPC, etc. This year, winners will be from the first ten years of shareware. In the future, no repeat winners unless there has been a significant re-write of the winning software. 10. Best new product Judged by panel Package must have been introduced in calendar year prior to SSS. 11. Best Overall Judged by panel selected for technology / utility 12. Peoples' Choice Award Award is for "best" or "technical excellence", and not for popularity and is to be determined by returned user ballots (information via vendor-, BBS-, and magazine- polls). Voting is open to anyone except panel and steering committee. A random draw from ballots recieved will be held to reward the voters. Three winners will recieve a prize consisting of one registered version of each of the SIA winning products. Ballots will be sent to each ASP disk vendor and BBS as the primary voting for "best of" awards (ASP might let us put the ballot/letter into the group mailing). 13. Achievement Award This is an award to a person, rather than a package Judged by panel Recognizes outstanding achievement Need not be awarded each year Panel Appointed by steering committee Must be knowledgeable about broad range of offerings Will nominate products for awards by June 1, 1992 Will research nominated products Will vote on finalists in Indianapolis on Thursday, June 20, 1992 Bill Dickson.............Shareable Software International Bob Burns................PBS Bob Ostrander............PBS Craig Kerwien............ZiffNet George Margelis..........Budgetware (Australia) George Pulido............PC-SIG Jack Rickard.............Boardwatch Magazine Jerry Olsen..............freelance writer Jim Green................Software Testing Labs Mike Callahan............Shareware Magazine Preston Gralla...........PC Computing Steve Enzer..............Alternative Software Bulletin Steve Townsley...........Shareware Marketing (UK) Tom Knackstedt...........Software Excitement! Program: A program for the awards will be developed and printed. Bob will handle the DTP work and manage the printing. Should include: - schedule - sponsors - history of SIA - advertising??? Hotel/Motel accomodations: The arrangements are finally complete with the Adam's Mark. Got into a bit of flack last week because of an incompetent salesman who didn't reserve enough space but... Rooms: Single or Double, 1 or 2 beds - $74 / night (plus 10% tax) MUST REFERENCE the Summer Shareware Seminar for this rate (about $13 off normal) Reserve via mail to Adam's Mark 2544 Executive Dr Indianapolis, IN 46241 or phone to 317-248-2481 (a reservation card will be in the flyer next month). Suites are available for an _extra_ $95 to $300 (ranging from a parlor to an attached room with a conference table that seats 35). Not cheap, sorry. On a separate note, if you remember the somewhat crowded conditions last year (we expected 125 people and got 210 ) - this is FIXED. The two meeting rooms will total just over 10,000 sq ft of space! We're set to hold more than 500 people. (plus 2,000 sq ft for the Thursday get-together, 4,000 for the Friday reception, and 3,800 for the Saturday SIA awards dinner). ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ! WIN ! * * * 1992 Shareware Industry Awards * * * ! WIN ! ³ ³ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ³ ³ As part of the Tenth Anniversary of Shareware Celebrations in Indianapolis ³ ³ this June, the first Shareware Industry Awards will be presented to the ³ ³ authors of the best software in the industry. You can participate by ³ ³ voting for your favorite shareware program, and have a chance to win your ³ ³ own copies of all the top programs. Ten lucky winners will receive fully ³ ³ registered versions of all 12 award winners. ³ ³ ³ ³ To be eligible to win, fill out the ballot below and mail it to the ³ ³ address at the bottom of the form. Winners will be selected by random ³ ³ draw on June 21, 1992. Entries must be postmarked by May 15, 1992. ³ ³ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ³ Best Shareware Program: ³ Name: ³ ³ ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ³ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄij Address: ³ ³ Why it's the best: ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ³ ³ City, State: ³ ³ ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ³ ³ Country: ³ ³ ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ³ ³ Zip: ³ ³ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ³ Shareware Industry Awards Box 279 North Andover, MA 01845-0279 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Contact: Jim Perkins (416) 857-4141 SHAREWARE INDUSTRY AWARDS ANNOUNCED BEST OF THE BEST HONORED! Indianapolis - As part of its 10th Anniversary of Shareware celebrations, the shareware industry will honor its best shareware authors and publishers at the Shareware Industry Awards. The Awards ceremony promises to be the highlight of the Summer Shareware Seminar, to be held this year between June 19 and 21 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It will be a formal occasion on the Saturday evening during the seminar. The winners will be presented with their award at the Awards ceremony to recognize their outstanding achievement. Awards will be presented in fourteen categories, including Best New Utility, Best New Major Application, Education, Entertainment, the People's Choice Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Summer Shareware Seminar is a full three day event where authors and publishers meet to exchange technology and marketing experiences, benefit from the expertise of industry leaders, and introduce new products to the press and major vendors. All shareware authors, publishers and vendors are invited. Contact: FormGen Corp., 13 Holland Drive, Bolton, Ont. L7E 1G4 (800) 263-2390 (416) 857-4141 FAX: (416) 857-4531 End of Summer Shareware Seminar news. Time to switch gears . . . Let's talk about credit. In the last issue of SMS I mentioned the ins and outs of obtaining merchant status so your customers can pay for shareware orders and registrations with a credit card. The other side of the coin is locating the lowest rate card or bank for your own personal credit card. Consider obtaining a monthly update to CardTrack published by Ram Research which surveys 300 largest credit card issuing banks and organizations. The list provides names and phone numbers for cards with lowest customer rates nationally. For latest issue of CardTrack send $5 to Card Track, POB 1700, Frederick, MD 21702. Or call Ram Research at 301/695-4660. Want to be a better shareware author? Broaden your educational horizon with radio. My favorite program is Marketplace - a light and VERY lively review of business news. Marketplace follows another one of my radio favorites: All things considered. You may have to make a few calls to local radio stations in your community to locate the Public Radio or Educational channel. Here in Seattle All Things is carried on KUOW (94.9 FM) both mornings and evenings with Marketplace in the evenings immediately following All Things. Once you have listened to Marketplace for business news, you'll be hooked! Marketplace can also be contacted at the following address: Marketplace Radio, Los Angeles, CA 90089. Telephone: 800/733-2229. Tapes of previous broadcasts and lists of national affiliate stations are available. And while on the subject of radio, note that industry columnist John Dvorak began broadcasting a nationally syndicated radio program in early January of this year. Lots of computer industry gossip and celebrity visits. For a station in your area, contact Cybernet Radio Network, 213 Upper Terrace, San Francisco, CA 94117. Final tip: set a timer to tape record programs you might miss then listen to a cassette in the car when opportunity presents itself! Sign of the times department: clearly commercial software companies are profoundly aware of the shareware channel. In an interesting marketing move which further validates shareware marketing channel vigor, Central Point Software of Oregon released a special shareware version of their Anti-Virus program configured to detect the Michelangelo virus. The special edition of the program was released on February 21 and required a mere 5 days to reach most major BBS systems and vendors throughout America - a validation of the maturity and size of the shareware distribution channel. The virus detection package also helps expose a functional, though limited, working copy of the popular Central Point Software program which should boost sales for their full featured version in the future. Central Point Software BBS (2400 bps) (503) 690-6650 CompuServe: GO CENTRAL. What's hot and what's not department: an edition of SMS would not be complete without a scan of shareware programs which have made the top seller's list among vendors. Let's pause and discover what's hot! Shareware Express, Ashland, Oregon disk vendor, placed the following hot programs on their top ten list. In order of popularity: Print Partner, World29, Windows Icons, Skyglobe, Zipkey, Music Trans, LQ, Family Fun, King of Kroz, BOOT.SYS. The January edition of PC Sources Magazine recommended: Checkmate Plus, dtSearch, 4DOS, Instacalc, List, Telix, VSUM, Wampum, and Winbatch. Actual top ten were Commander Keen, Viruscan, Skyglobe, Duke Nukem, Icondraw, Desktop Paint, By Design, Print Partner, Animated Math and As-Easy-As. Finally, recommended DOS 5.0 utilities in that same issue were DOS 5.0 Memory management kit, TSR utilities ver 3.1, and DV Tree. The March-April edition of Shareware Magazine, published in affiliation with PC-SIG awarded top ten ranking to Duke Nukem, Viruscan, SkyGlobe, School Mom, Crystal Caves, Graphics Workshop, Print Partner, PKZIP, and Zipkey. The previous January-Febrary edition of Shareware Magazine bestowed editor choice awards on 4DOS, 4Print, Animated Series, As-Easy-As, Back and Forth, Boxer Editor, Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, Command Post, Commo, Contact Plus, EZ-Format, Form Gen, Frac, Gogol Math, Grab Plus, Hard Disk Director, HDM IV, Hooper Finance, LCD, List, Logik Menu, Metz Utilities, Moraff Games, PC-File, Paint Shop, PC-Write Standard Level, PK Menu, PKZIP, TSR Download, Laserjet soft fonts, Unicom, Viruscan, VPIC, Zipkey, 4Edit, 4zip, Boot.sys, PMK and School Mom. Houtston, TX based PSL awarded best of 1991 awards to: Wincheck, Painless Payroll, Verbal Vanquish, Pre & Grade School, Commander Keen, Due Nukem, Jumpman Lives, Crystal caves, Dark Ages, Robomaze, Fairy Godmom, Hugo II, Whodunit, Intra-Galactic battles, Quatris Pro, Friday Night Poker, Las Vegas Craps, Desktop Paint, Interstate Traveler, Starware, Fastmenu Gold, Back Desk, Fish and Iconmaster. Finally, PC Shareware Magazine, a publication from England published by Steve Lee of Shareware Limited, noted in their recent, March 1992 edition that top twenty shareware programs in the UK were in order of priority: Driving Simulators, Commander Keen, Page Financial Controller, Draft Choice, Educational Word Games, Optiks, Imageprint, Primary Education 2, Desktop Paint, As-Easy-As, Amy's First Primer, Flodraw, EasyCASE, Advanced Utils 3, Wampum, PCX Borders, Graphics Workshop, Hornback PCX, French and Sharespell. This listing is interesting because, unlike other vendors, symbols next to each program shown in the Magazine indicate a "rising and fallling" in position of the program compared to the last listing. Sort of like a music album listing which shows who has risen and fallen since the last top twenty listing. Clever? Let's continue the last paragraph for a moment. PC Shareware Magazine from Shareware Limited is an ASTONISHING resource. Shareware is a VERY popular and highly visible software style in the UK. The density of information of the magazine and its companion order catalog is a meaty 80 pages for the March 92 edition, substantially beyond the size and publication frequency of similar U.S. publications. PC Shareware Magazine articles scan a spectrum of topics: new international vendors and agents, specific games and titles localized to European shareware markets, author news, program reviews, program ratings and exceptional illustrations and screen dumps. The advertising from shareware disk vendors is dense, full-page and richly illustrated. Author interviews with the likes of Tom Rawson (4DOS, J P Software) and Dave Shulz/Paris Karacalios (As-Easy-As, Trius, Inc) delve into how shareware programs are developed and marketed effectively. I recently made arrangements with Steve Lee of Shareware Limited to exchange subscriptions to our mutual publications as well as mutually draw news items from each other's publications which should prove valuable for SMS readers. Incidentally, the companion shareware disk catalog from Shareware Limited, simply called the Shareware Book is a modified version of the familiar Public Brand Software catalog with UK and European shareware offerings added. PC Shareware Magazine. Publisher: Steve Lee. Editor: Ken Hughes, Belgrave House, POB 43, Rossendale, Lancashire BB4 5PJ. Tel: 0706-222370. Fax: 0706-212027. PC Shareware Magazine readers and editors also hang out on Compuserve at GO UKSHARE. US subscriptions are available. If you work with mailing lists as a vendor or shareware author, sooner or later you bump into the need to convert database formats. Customers, vendors and authors swap mailing lists like crazy and the variety of data formats is insane. Hot new product: DBMS/COPY converts INCREDIBLE NUMBER of formats and also does SOPHISTICATED DATA MANIPULATION AND ANALYSIS. Formats which can be interchanged and translated include: Macintosh ASCII, IBM ASCII, free format, SPSS, entrypoint, Alpha Four, Clarion, Fox, GURU, Smartware, Reflex, dBase, Knowledgeman, Axum, Sigma, Excel, 123, DIF, Quattro, Symphony, ACT accounting, BASS, STAT pack and DOZENS MORE! Once you have the data you can run MIND BOGGLING ANALYSIS and string manipulations to include log, gamma, date, time, binomial, inverse, matrix math, trig functions, upper lower case conversions, string conversions, right/left justify and TONS MORE manipulations. Get the brochure and check out this product which will blow you away if you work with varied database formats: DBMS/COPY PLUS for DOS. SPSS Inc., 444 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611 800/543-9258. Neat stuff department: We've all seen imprinted products. Things like pens and t-shirts with company logos imprinted. But if you stop and think for a moment, disk vendors could do some interesting promotions with the concept as well as authors promoting package registrations. One of the COOLEST catalogs of promotional imprinted merchandise comes from Sales Guides and contains a gorgeous assortment of goodies onto which you could imprint your company logo or name: pens, glasses, toolkits, calendars, address books, post-it note pads, watches, calculators and on and on. Much the merchandise is VERY high quality and would make a good impression on ANY potential customer. Get the catalog and decide for yourself. Sales Guides, 10510 N. Port Washington Rd, Mequon, WI 53092-9986 800/352-9899 or FAX: 800/352-9501. Fred Parker has shipped his first mailing list disk of shareware customers and clients to authors participating in the shareware SWAPS program. For some authors, this may be an affordable low key, low cost alternative to ASP membership. Fred's initial disk for SWAPS members contains THOUSANDS of mailing addresses of shareware users/customers and the shareware package types they have registered! The source of this list is dozens of author- pooled customer lists which are compiled, cleaned and checked for dupes. Fabulous resource! Fred also maintains a central mailing list of all shareware author addresses for the benefit of the industry. I'll reprint some of the SWAPS program goals shortly, but first Fred's address: Fred Parker, POB 4684, West Palm Beach, FL 33402 407/687-7738 SWAPS (Shareware Authors' Promotional Services) Central to the plan is to create a shareware focal point to reduce distribution costs and increase author registrations. SWAPS is a for-profit, member supported program, conceived and managed by USE-FULL(TM) SOFTWARE ANTHOLOGIES, Fred's company, to promote shareware authors' financial interests. Premises: 1) One thousand, or more, shareware authors, with common interests, working in concert, can achieve and earn more at lower costs than an equal number of authors working alone. 2) Income earned from individual effort is limited by one's time, energy and available capital. Income earned from the efforts of others can be unlimited. Based on these premises, SWAPS goals are to: 1) Enroll all shareware authors in the SWAPS program. 2) Enroll vendor, BBS, computer clubs and user members. 3) Establish a central BBS distribution point through which all member software and updates shall pass. Authors upload to one BBS, authors have no postage or material costs. 4) Vendors, BBSs and other members download from one up-to-date source. Huge mailing costs to authors becomes a small cost to vendors who will profit most. Authors save time and avoid telephone charges uploading to multiple BBS systems. No modem? No problem. SWAPS can upload it. 5) Encourage a 25% courtesy discount on registrations among members. Members will have an incentive to promote and place registration orders for other members products. Creates more income for members in a recession prone economy. 6) Maintain the current address for members who move. 7) Promote sharing of information about contract programming, joint ventures and other employment opportunities. In the last few weeks, SWAPS has already referred one registrant seeking a software program to an author who could fill the need - matching of customers to programs and authors. Other successful matches include address referral to a vendor seeking to register an author's program, author referral to a local business seeking a QB2 programmer. Future services may grow to include: 1) Coop mailings among members 2) Credit card registration service and processing 3) Introduce Peer awards for author member programs 4) Coordinate reciprocal beta testing among authors 5) International distribution of shareware 6) Quantity discount buying for systems and supplies 7) Assistance to new authors 8) Regional service centers operated by authors 9) Track downloads of each author's program and post information in private message center 10) Encourage vendor members to provide program sales figures for compilation and posting. Vendors only need upload sales by program to one board. Overcomes excessive workload objection. 11) Maintain member directory 12) Maintain registered users mail list. SWAPS charter members would receive a 15 month, first year subscription since some services would not be available for 3 to 6 months from start-up. Comments about the feasibility of this program appreciated. Replies to Fred Parker at addresses listed above. "Free advice" tips from Fred Parker for SWAPS authors: Stop using cardboard disk mailers (increases postage by .23 and cost .24 each). Instead use paper 6 x 9 envelopes (.04 each). Savings: .47 per mail piece saved x 300 pieces = $141 savings! Avoid pre- printed envelopes: 6 x 9 envelopes pre-printed cost .10 each. Instead use gummed shipping labels which you print with your printer at about .012 each. Savings: .088 x 300 per average mailing = $26.40. Use rubber stamp reading "Computer disks - Do not bend" at one time cost of $3.50. Do not use pre-printed disk labels which cost .07 each. Use Terry Lustofin's "Piclabel" or F. Verser's "Labelmaker" software programs. Savings: .07 x 300 = $21.00. Included with the SWAPS mailing was a BEAUTIFUL full color brochure on the BOXER text editor by author Dave Hamel who PREPARED THE BROCHURE HIMSELF. Dave might just have discovered a skill more authors can use! Also included with the SWAPS mailing is the Shareware Sales Tracker software program which has been added to the SMS GOODIES section. Need to dabble in converting parts of your program to Windows? George Cole (14608 - 25th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98166 206/246- 3647) programs in Visual Basic which is a FAST development system - you might find some synergy contacting George if you have been considering producing a Windows product. George is working on a Windows conversion of my PC-Learn package. Want to learn about advanced and automated methods of testing software? Neat factoids like how your software upgrades can degrade another part of your software system once installed, top down versus bottom up testing, using CASE tools and event positioning for software testing, code doping, reverse software engineering and more. Consider attending the "Improving the software testing process" seminars to be given by Data Tech of Clifton, New Jersey. Seminars are held as follows: May 4-5, Atlanta. May 7-8, Dallas. May 11-12, Phoenix. June 8-9, Seattle. June 22-23, Chicago. June 25-26, San Jose. For information contact DATA TECH, POB 2429, Clifton, NJ 07015. VOICE: 201/478- 5400. FAX: 201/478-4418. Automated software testing system which generates custom reports for the suite of tests you design. Non-intrusive, hardware assisted. Can also test mainframes and minis. Elverex Evaluator, Eastern Time Inc., POB 310, 117 S. St., Hopkinton, MA 01748. 508/435-2151. A few words about SDN, also known as the Shareware Distribution Network. This not-for-profit group is represented by BBS sysops who believe strongly in the principle of shareware and are dedicated to rapid and highly organized distribution among BBS systems. Both ASP and non-ASP shareware is distributed by this efficient national network of BBS systems. As a key organization for shareware marketing, authors should consider contacting Ray Kaliss who is the SDN project manager at his address or BBS listed in the main SMS database mailing list. You may be able to legally limit your tax liability by forming an S Corporation which avoids double taxation on corporate tax status. Book available: How an S Corporation can Save you Tax, by Joseph Oliver, CPA. $14.95 plus $2.50 shipping. Enterprise Publishing, 725 N. Market St, Dept VL-1XL, Wilmington, DE 19801. Speaking of taxes, you can locate some tasty CompuServe files having to do with taxes and advice for those working from home. GO Work, Library 9 for the following. SETAX.THD explains strategies on self-employment tax and retaining a larger share of earnings. WTHKID.THD discusses proper tax procedures on witholding for employment of your own children in your business. STRTUP.THD presents a clear explanation of start-up expenses, equipment purchases and tax liabilities. BUYCAP.THD presents notes on buying capital equipment such as furniture, computers and other capital expenditures. BOOKS.THD discusses proper bookkeeping methods and ways to save time and energy on your accounting records. Several shareware authors contacted me last month regarding organizations involved with the disabled and computing applications - such as software, hardware and shareware - for that unique market. A brief list of contact organizations which should assist authors and vendors interested in that market: AbleData, Adaptive Equipment Dept, Newington Children's Hospital, 181 E Cedar St, Newington, CT 06111 800/344-5405 Accent on Information, POB 700, Bloomington, IL 61702 309/378-2961. Apple Computer, Office of Special Educ. and Rehab., 20525 Mariani Ave. MS 43F, Cupertino, CA 95014 408/996-1010 Closing the Gap, POB 68, Henderson, MN 56044 612/248-3294 Direct Link of the Disabled, POB 1036, Solvang, CA 93463 805/688-1603 Easter Seals Systems Office, 5120 S. Hyde Park Blvd, Chicago, IL 60615 312/667-8626 IBM National Support Center for People with disabilities, POB 2150, Atlanta, GA 30055 800/426-2133 Proceedings of Johns Hopkins National Search for Computing Applications to Assist Persons with Disabilities. IEEE Computer Society Press, 10662 Los Vaqueros Circle, POB 3014, Los Alamitos, CA 90720-1264 American Foundation for the Blind, 15 W. 16th St, NY, NY 10011 212/620-2000 Trace Research and Development, Univ of Wisconsin, Madison Room S-151, Waisman Ctr, 1500 Highland Ave., Madison WI 53705 608/262-6966 National ALS Association, 21021 Ventura Blvd, Ste 321, Woodland Hills, CA 91364 818/340-7500 Next, let's discuss online databases which you might find surprising marketing resources. Advanced modem users are going to shrug and say they can access this through a CompuServe gateway. WRONG! You can usually access a SUBSET of the data, not the entire database! For MUSCULAR MARKET RESEARCH you need to go online direct to the database. A 1990 Small Business Association survey revealed that of 2,000 businesses owning a PC, few were using it for marketing research with business and marketing databases available via modem. These databases reveal new customers, potential geographic marketing concepts, foreign trade possibilities, suppliers, competitors and key executive contacts. Online census data can be accessed to determine a precise geographic area which is ideal for a new product introduction. Next, a listing of specialized online database services. Calling a specialized database directly may yield more detailed information since gateway services such as Compuserve obtain only a PORTION of the entire database. Realize that there are over 4,250 online databases of specialized research and business data! Two master indexes are available which describe ALL online services. The directory of Online Databases is available for $75 from Cuadra Associates and can be found on the Orbit service at 800/456-7248 or DataStar at 800/221-7754. You might also consider the more detailed Computer Readable Databases index for $165 from Gale Research which is available through Dialog at 800/334-2564. Databases of interest in alphabetical order: BRS Gateway. 800/345-4277, 800/289-4277. Accesses many business and special research databases described within this tutorial. Business Dateline. 800/626-2823 or 502/589-5575. Complete text articles of over 200 US and Canadian business magazines. Also available on CD ROM. Also available through Dow Jones News, Nexis and other services. Businessline. 800/866-2255. Statistical reporting service on over 8 million businesses, including number of employees, sales line, number of businesses in a geographical area in a specific product line. BusinessWire. 800/227-0845 or 415/986-4422. Carries announcements and press releases about new products, services, research findings, financial reports. Also available through Delphi, Dow Jones, and other services. Cendata. 301/763-4100. Economic data on domestic and foreign business trade including retails sales, building permits, employee staffing levels, etc. Conference Board Abstract Data base. 317/872-2045 or 800/421- 8884. Specialized research areas on business management, decision making, case studies in management of individual companies, speeches by corporate executives, management consultants and government researchers. Topics also cover labor relations, merit pay, executive compensation. Consumer Spending Forecast. 215/660-6300. Forecasts and past historical trends on consumer spending, credit use patterns, retail sales. Consumer Trends. 212/725-4550 or 212/725-5954. Contains references, citations and cross referenced bibliography regarding consumer trends articles and research. Corptech. 617/932-3939 or 800/333-8036. Profiles of small and emerging growth companies or those with innovative technology. Useful for identifying customers for your product or candidates for stock purchase, merger, technology transfers or mutual research arrangements. Daily Developments. 317/872-2045 or 800 421-8884. Contains over 180,000 articles concerning governmental actions, pending legislation, environmental developments, international trade, tax rulings and similar topics. Track the evolution of a regulation which may affect your business from introduction through final enactment. Useful for personnel professionals needing latest insights on legislation concerning employee rights, unions, urban planning, drug and alcohol abuse. Superb up to date information on tax legislation. Dialog Information Services. 800/334-2564. Accesses many business and financial database services. Disclosure Database. 212/581-1414. Updated financial reporting data on over 14,000 publicly owned companies whose stocks are traded on the NYSE and other public exchanges. Also available through Compuserve, BRS, Dow Jones and other services. Donnelly Demographics. 203/353-7474. Contains US census data which is highly valuable to marketing and sales analysts. Useful for planning expansions of retail stores or analyzing a region's labor pool by age, education and race. Includes Arbitron Press Areas of Dominant Influence, AC Nielsen Designated Market areas. Also includes current and five year projected estimates and demographic analysis of US census data. Dow Jones News. 609/520-4000. Timely business, financial and government news bulletins which include articles from Wall Street Journal and Barrons National Business. Business and market professionals can learn about emerging legislation, business mergers, economic forecasts, financial disclosures and banking regulations hours before general media report the story. DRI/NPDC County Business Patterns Service. 800/541-9914 or 617/860-6385. US county employment data including SIC code and business patterns census data. Includes payroll, staffing, number of firms referenced by number of employees. Dun's Million Dollar Directory. 800/526-9018. Contains financial, marketing and address data for over 190,000 companies whose net worth exceeds $500,000. Also available on Dialog. EconBase. 215/667-6000. Unique analytical database with state by state or industry tabulations of foreign currency changes over time, electricity use, agricultural output or use of aluminum. Useful for forecasting, business relocation planning, raw materials planning, economic trends, manufacturing output. Data recorded back to 1948. Encyclopedia of Associations. 313/961-2242 or 800/521-0707. As its name suggests this online service lists national and international associations, trade groups, unions, societies, non-profits, clubs and patriotic groups. Over 77,000 groups in all. Knowing the right organization can point you in the right direction to authorities on a given topic or field. VERY useful for shareware authors trying to nail down a market niche and needing to find a starting point! Harvard Business Review Online. 212/850-6000. Contains full transcript of all articles of the esteemed Harvard Business Review from 1976 to the present. Business topics include statistics, marketing, ethics, automation, robotics, foreign trade, forecasting, negotiating and employee training. Insiderline. 301/738-1400 or 800/231-DATA. Provides up to the minute specialized information on corporate executive stock trades as required by SEC forms 3 and 4. Trader name, company position, share volume traded, value, total shares owned. Market Analysis and Information Database. 212/245-3513. Over 36,000 reports on marketing methods and trends for specific industries and countries. Electronics, agriculture, silk screen printing, food and beverage, consumer habits, demographics and more. Covers over 730 business and trade publications in 22 languages - all translated into English. Newsline service offers fast breaking trends and is updated daily. Mead Data Central. Nexis Research Service. 800/277-9597. 800/277-8379. Moody's 5000 Plus. News and financial reporting data on 14,000 companies which are publicly traded. Also available on CD ROM. NewsNet. 800/345-1301. News and business database service. Newsearch 800/227-8431 or 415/378-5329. Index of over 4,200 news stories, books, reports and libraries on businesses, products, finance, marketing trends. Standard and Poor's News Service. 212/208-8622. High level financial reporting data on over 18,000 companies to include mergers, aquisitions, management and staffing, earnings. Telescan Financials. 713/952-1060. Allows investors to scan over 10,000 stock offerings for particular investment profile such as SIC code, profits to earnings, price, etc. Historical data reveal a target company profile and growth. Complete transcripts and analysis of trade shows, investment seminars, wire service news. Thomas Register. 212/290-7291. Who makes what and where in the U.S. Over 160,000 businesses, 50,000 classes of products and over 100,000 trade names of products. Also available on Compuserve. HOT shareware source since you can search for addresses of key contact business in a specific niche, from plumbing to video rentals. Trade and Industry Index. 800/227-8431 or 415/378-5329. Index to over three million articles on industry, trade, commerce. Also available on CD ROM. TriNet. 201/267-3600 or 800/874-6381. Information on over 200,000 private and public companies. Arranged by conventional SIC code categories. Private company information is especially difficult to obtain and TriNet seems to the best at locating it. Western Union. 800/527-5184 Gateway for most major business databases. ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Please note that older material from previous SMS newsletters, containing HIGHLY valuable marketing information, has been moved to the SMS archives disk which is available from SMS. Consult the GOODIES section of SMS for information on ordering this archived material if you do not have previous editions of SMS. ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ