Around the world, thousands of people who use Macintoshes write software. Often, it’s for their own use: sometimes, they feel that other Mac users might find their efforts of value. Rather than go to commercial software publishers, who would probably charge large amounts of money for the software (and keep most of it), many programmers release their programs as shareware.
Shareware programs can be distributed freely. They are made available at archive sites, on bulletin boards and on disks given out with magazines or by user groups. You can copy shareware programs, give copies to friends, feed them to your cat, put copies on as many computers as you like. If, after using a shareware program for a while, you decide you don’t like it, you can throw it away and owe nothing to anyone. However, if you like it and decide you want to keep it, the author requests a small payment, usually far less than a similar commercially available program would cost.
There is nothing to force you to pay for shareware. No-one will come snooping round your Mac to see if you are using shareware without paying for it—indeed, it is questionable whether you have any obligation in law to pay for it at all. There is, however, a moral obligation on you to pay for any shareware you decide to keep. In addition, shareware payments encourage programmers in general to write more shareware, which lets us all use good or even great software at minimal cost and with a free trial period.
Apollo
Apollo is shareware. You may copy it, give copies to friends and put copies on bulletin boards, provided you will make no money from so doing. You should keep the Apollo system extension, the Eagle system extension, the Read Me document, the About Apollo document and the Apollo converter application together whenever you pass a copy to anyone else. If you wish to include Apollo on any medium which you propose to sell, you must obtain written permission from the author in advance.
You may use Apollo without obligation for a trail period of three weeks. If, at the end of this time, you decide that you don’t like it, you should throw it away. If you like it, you should send a completed registration form to the author at the address below, with a cheque (or check) for $US30 or £15 sterling per copy. To print a registration form,choose either the “About…” or “Registration…” items from the Apollo submenu and click the “Print registration form” button.
The registration key
About three weeks after you first install it, Apollo will start to remind you every now and again that you haven’t registered your copy. You get rid of these reminders permanently by entering your name and your registration key into the registration dialog. Your registration key will be sent to you immediately your registration form is received, by email if possible. The key is determined by your name, so make sure that your registration form is clearly filled out! To bring up the registration dialog, choose “Registration” from the Apollo submenu and click the Register button.
Site licences
If you would like to register more than one copy of Apollo, please get in touch with me: multiple-copy and site licenses are available at reduced cost.
System administrators’ version
A special version of Apollo is available to registered users, which has optional password protection on the configuration, preferences and purge dialogs. Please contact me for details.
The future
I have many new features for Apollo in mind. These include various additions to make configuring Apollo easier (“Purge unknown”, “Scan disk for applications” and a Remove button in the “Where is file xxx?” dialog), self-configuring document submenus in the “Recent apps” group, the ability to search disks for applications and install them automatically, custom icons in the menus, colour icons in the menu bar, application substitution (no more “application busy or missing ” messages!), a “quit all other applications” command, a dynamic “volumes” group with submenus for all mounted volumes, and many more. If I get sufficient indication that people out there are interested, I will continue to work on and improve Apollo. I hope I do.
