 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The Wonderful World of Shareware Bernadette Houghton bernieh@iaccess.com.au |
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Have you checked out the shareware world lately? If not, you may be in for a pleasant surprise. Gone are the days of shareware being a very poor second to shrink-wrapped commercial software. Over the past few years the quality of shareware has improved enormously and many shareware products are equal to, or better than, their commercial counterparts.
What Is Shareware?
Shareware is simply a means of marketing software. The author of the software releases it for general distribution on a "try before you buy" basis. This allows users to evaluate the product for a limited period to determine whether it meets their needs. If, after the end of the trial period (ranging from 3 to 30 days), the user wishes to continue using the software, a registration fee must be paid. Registration often entitles the user to a printed manual, the latest version of the software, additional technical support and periodic information and updates.
The onus is on the user to register. Some authors encourage registration by offering enhanced functionality; others include "pause screens", while others release shareware that is exactly the same as the registered version. A few authors even release software which is disabled after the expiration of a set period.
Shareware is not restricted to utilities or games. There is a plethora of word processing packages, spreadsheets and databases available. There are artificial intelligence programs, personal information managers, statistical packages and CAD products. Most home computers are likely to contain several shareware products; however shareware is not restricted to home users.
The world of shareware adjusts rapidly to what is happening in the world of commercial software and more powerful hardware; there is an ever-increasing range of software devoted to OS/2 and Windows, and shareware is available that takes advantage of the 32-bit capabilities of 386 and 486 generation machines. At this stage I am unaware of any full-featured shareware Windows spreadsheets or word processing packages, but other Windows software such as databases, CAD packages and utilities are well represented in the form of shareware.
Benefits
From the user's point of view, shareware is cheaper than commercial software and can be evaluated in the comfort of his/her own environment for no more than a small financial outlay. Unlike commercial software, there is no need to spend a few hundred dollars and risk discovering that the software is unsuitable for its intended purpose.
Apart from the marketing expenses, the cost of commercial software is inflated by the inclusion of features that will never be used by many prospective purchasers. This is not to say that shareware does not have more than adequate features to meet users' needs, but it is probably true to say in general that major commercial software
packages, such as WordPerfect and Word for Windows have more bells and whistles than most of their shareware counterparts.
From the author's point of view, releasing software as shareware achieves a wider distribution with fewer marketing expenses. It also ensures prompt feedback from users and facilitates quick release of updates. The reduced bureaucracy and overheads associated with most shareware authors also promote responsiveness to market forces.
Traps
Currency - because of the proliferation of shareware sources and the frequency with which some shareware authors release updates, it is difficult to ensure that you have the most recent version of a product. The best way to be sure of this is to register the software or use a vendor who obtains his software directly from the author. Shareware on CD-Roms, in particular, can often be at least several months out of date.
Cost - The cost of shareware ranges from nothing up to about $20 (or even more if multiple disks are involved). When considering that this is just the distribution cost and that an additional cost is incurred if the product is registered, the cost benefits of shareware may seem less attractive. However, this must be balanced against the "loss" incurred if the registered version was purchased outright and fell short of expectations.
Not all shareware represents value for money. A small minority of shareware authors charge relatively high registration fees for very simple utilities or games. However, the user can simply elect not to use such products.
Poor service - most disk vendors are keen to obtain repeat business and offer an excellent service with fast (usually 24 hour) turnaround; however, as with any other business, there are the odd few who give the industry a bad name. I have had dealings with one vendor who took over a month to process my order and with another who failed to respond to repeated follow-up letters.
Misleading marketing - some shareware products are marketed in such a way that the susceptible buyer is under the belief that he has purchased a full version of the product and does not realise an additional registration fee is payable. Once again, this is an example of the odd few giving the whole industry a bad name.
Quality - Many enthusiastically catalogued programs fail to live up to user's expectations in a big way. Apart from this being a good reason for having shareware in the first place (imagine the frustration and anger if the same thing happened with commercial software costing hundreds of dollars), many shareware authors provide glowing "blurbs" for disk vendors to include in their catalogues. Reputable disk vendors should check out the program themselves before using any such "blurbs", but this is not always done. The solution here is experience (of vendor quality and service) and avoiding vendors which charge more than a reasonable amount per disk. That way, if the program turns out to be a dud, the cost of getting the disk in the first place will have been minimal.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Bibliography
Once, some shareware had a reputation for being a ''&ry poor second compared to commercial software.,what is certainly not true today: Shareware quality has improved in leaps and bounds in recent years-some very reputable companies are involved in the shareware field, such as McAfee Associates with VIRUSCAN and PKWare's PKZIR These companies released shareware versions of their commercial products, other authors have used shareware as a stepping stone to commercial software. One of the main shareware players, Buttonware, turned to commercial software from shareware and then back again to shareware with PC-File.
Today the cost gap between shareware and commercial software is narrowing as the software market in general becomes more competitive and commercial software in particular becomes cheaper.
Many commercial software firms release demonstration versions of their products, but these do not have full functionality and are not shareware. In the future, despite the narrowing cost gap between shareware and commercial software, shareware is likely to maintain its "try before you buy" edge.
Australian Shareware
While most shareware is sourced from the United States and Europe, there is plenty of Australian shareware around, some of it of very high quality indeed. Among good quality Australian shareware is the Word Fugue word processing program, the Calmer Utilities, the Microworks Toolbox Windows utilities and Breeze word processor.
Viruses
Shareware was once widely suspected of being a major carrier of viruses. However, all reputable distributors check software for viruses before issuing it. Over the past few years, I have obtained hundreds of shareware programs from numerous distributors, and have not contracted a single virus from this source. Shareware obtained via BBSs and friends poses a far greater risk than does shareware obtained through reputable distributors.
Where To Get It
The sources of shareware are virtually limitless:
Support and Registration
Virtually all shareware comes with some on-disk documentation, although in the case of freeware, such documentation may be scanty. Most quality shareware, however, comes with a comprehensive online manual which also details where to obtain assistance and how to register the product.
Registering Australian shareware poses no difficulty - it is usually just a matter of sending off a cheque or providing credit card details. However, since most shareware available in Australia is sourced from overseas, it follows that most shareware must also be registered overseas. Apart from being something of a hassle as some authors will not accept VISA cards, it means that the software becomes more expensive as currency conversions and bank and postal charges inflate the price. However, many disk vendors in Australia sell registered versions of overseas shareware programs, and the larger vendors also provide support for those programs. This alleviates the problem to some extent, but there still remains a great deal of shareware which must be registered overseas and for which support must be sought offshore.
From time to time bulk registration deals are offered for some overseas products, such as that for the Blue Wave Mail Reader as advertised in the August 1993 edition of
PC Update.
Conclusion
If you need software at a competitive price, are not sure of your requirements of a particular type of software, or if you just enjoy mucking around and finding out how programs function, shareware may be your answer. Who knows? Like me you may even become a software junkie.
Olsen, J.W Happy 10th anniversary shareware. Shareware Magazine. Vol. VIII,
No.5, Sept-Oct 1992
Wells, Keir. Shakeup for shareware. Australian PC User. Vol. 4, No. 6, June
1992
Reprinted from the October 1993 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
