File Buddy is shareware. Shareware is try-before-you-buy-software. It is not use-it-as-long-as-you-like-for-free software. That kind of software is called freeware. If you like it and use it, please register as follows:
New Users: $35.00 US
Registered Users of a Previous Version get a $5 break:
Registered users File Buddy 1.x $15
Registered users File Buddy 2.x $5
Registered users File Buddy 3.x $5
So, if you registered a previous version and you paid extra at that time, send $35 - ( amount previously paid ) - $5. Example: If you sent $28.00 for File Buddy 3.x, you can upgrade for $35 - ( $28 ) - $5 = $2. (If you sent an extra $2 for a disk, that doesn't count.)
The upgrade is $5 for all previously registered users, regardless of when they registered (unless they paid extra). Establishing an upgrade policy for shareware is an interesting thing to try to do fairly. On the one hand, it would seem obviously fair to give a free upgrade to users that registered recently, and charge a small upgrade fee to users that registered not so recently since the users that registered a long time ago have had the benefit of the old version longer. But this is shareware. Both the user that registered today and the user that registered a year ago may have been using the product for the same length of time. Should not the user that registered the soonest after beginning to use the product be given the best break? In the end, there is no "fair" policy. Only an arbitrary one, and I made the easy decision.
Most users quickly see the value of File Buddy and have no problem with the price. For the benefit of those who feel differently, right now's a good time to address reactions like: "$10.00 seems like a big increase.", "$35 is a lot for shareware.", and others in that vein. Consider the following:
1) File Buddy has been $25 for three years. What hasn't gone up in the last three years?
2) The majority of users now use Kagi and CompuServe's SWREG to register File Buddy. Kagi keeps slightly more that 10% of the fee, and CompuServe keeps 15%. (Note that the SWREG fee for 3.x was $30 to compensate, but will be $35 for 4.x, the same as every other method of payment.)
3) While it has a few other things on it, I set up my web site at <www.skytag.com> principally for users of my software.
4) Truthfully, I think File Buddy does a lot for $35, and it offers several features not available elsewhere.
5) A few people seem to think of shareware authors as greedy people trying to make a buck from something they are doing as a hobby. While that may be true in some cases, it's not true here. In my case, I am a serious software developer that has chosen to market his product as shareware. As much as I love using my Mac, more than 97% of my computer use and computer-related purchases are related to this business. No one else uses my computer. I do not surf the web and I don't play games on my computer. (The last computer game I bought was Beyond Dark Castle. Honest.) I even keep my old IIsi for use as a test machine, and it has come in handy. I pay taxes on shareware income. So all of you that have a job that doesn't pay you have my permission to use File Buddy without paying me. File Buddy users that wouldn't work another day without being paid may feel free join the ever increasing ranks of paid-in-full registered users, to whom I am deeply indebted and appreciative.
How to Pay
My first choices are cash and check, sent directly to me at:
17 Old University Station Rd
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-1572
If you need or really prefer to use a credit card (VISA, MasterCard and American Express), you can use the RegisterFB application to register through the Kagi shareware registration service via e-mail. Please do NOT send cash or check payments to Kagi.
Credit card payments are especially helpful for people in countries outside the United States, since the currency conversions are handled automatically. Be sure to get the latest version of RegisterFB, which has been set up to register 4.0. It is available from <ftp://ftp.skytag.com/skytag.com/>). Send the form it generates together with your payment to:
Kagi Shareware
1442-A Walnut Street #392-FB
Berkeley, California, 94709-1405
USA
For credit card payments, send the form generated by the RegisterFB application (NOT the one File Buddy generates to mail directly to me) via e-mail to <shareware@kagi.com> or by FAX to 1-510-652-6589. Note that this address is for registration only. All comments about File Buddy should be sent directly to me at 76150.1027@compuserve.com.
Note: If you choose to use Kagi, please include your postal address with the correct capitaliazation you would use for mailing. On occasion the e-mail responses get bounced back and I have to mail a response.
You can upgrade through Kagi, but you'll have to include your old serial number as a comment so I can verify your old registration, especially if your address has changed since you registered.
Please note that if you register through Kagi, I end up with less money than if you mail me a check directly, and I'd really rather get all your money. In other words, my first choice is to get a check from you directly, but Kagi is definitely better than nothing.
As little as these amounts seem, it really makes a difference-at least in my case-when people send it. It takes a lot of time to design, write, and debug software. It then takes even more time and money to send out serial numbers and provide technical and web-based support. And then there are taxes, but this has been so much fun, let's not get depressing.
CompuServe Users: I have not obtained an SWREG ID for File Buddy 4.x, so you'll have to wait to use SWREG for 4.x. I can tell you that it will be $35, the same as any other registration method.
¥¥ Site licenses are available at the following rates per copy:
Quantity Total Fee
1 $35
2 $50
3 $75
4 $100
For more than 4 copies, use the File Buddy Register program from Kagi to obtain the correct fee, and thanks.
If you have a site license for a previous version of File Buddy, the upgrade is $5 a copy.
