Notes on Shareware
I feel compelled to write a little note now to clarify
any misconceptions about the difference between the different types of
software that are available for download off the 'Net.
Freeware:
This software has been made available to the general
public by its author, and is basically now public domain. This software
is yours for the keeping, no strings attached. There is also usually
a reason that they are giving it away, such as: it was originally written
10 years ago for an 8 bit operating system, and is as slow as Christmas.
Shareware:
This software is not free - the author has
made functioning versions of his/her software available to the general
public under the condition that, if you find their program to be useful,
you will send them money for a license to continue using it. This
is an honor system that will not work unless you participate. If
you don't feel that a program is worth the money, don't use it, remove
it from your computer. If however, you find the program to be useful, and
want to continue using it, please register it. The internet is a fantastic
method for individual programmers and small software companies to distribute
their products to a vast market, but this is also an invitation to those
less scrupulous members of society who feel that they should not have to
pay for anything they can steal. Theft is theft, no matter how you
gild that particular lily, so do the honorable thing and register your
shareware programs.
Warez:
These programs have been stolen
There are many sites and newsgroups on the Internet
that advertise as Warez or Cracks sites. What these people are doing
is distributing pirated or stolen software. They have managed to
break the copy-protection (crack) on commercial software products.
What they are distributing is stolen property, and as a future professional
programmer, I find this extremely dishonorable. These people are
making money by stealing the hard work of other people. "Wait!",
you say, "If they are distributing these programs for free, how are they
making money?" By selling advertising space on their sites, almost
exclusively to Internet porn sites. I guess that the XXX sites are
the only people on the internet unscrupulous enough to want to be associated
with the crackers and hackers...
So now you know the difference, be good and be
nice and
REGISTER YOUR SHAREWARE!
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