Re: Protecting Software w/ Software License Keys...
Re: Protecting Software w/ Software License Keys...
- Subject: Re: Protecting Software w/ Software License Keys...
- From: Jeff LaMarche <email@hidden>
- Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2002 23:20:06 -0700
On Saturday, June 15, 2002, at 10:51 PM, Richard Schreyer wrote:
>
So far, I've only written (fairly successful) freeware, because it really
>
doesn't obligate me to continue any work in the future, and I like that freedom.
>
But because the Software Engineering intern market is so tight this year,
>
I wasn't able to find any meaningful employment. I've been doing Cocoa
>
for a couple of years, but not many are hiring interns for Cocoa programming
>
;) Of course, even finding a C/C++/Java internship has been hard.
I can sympathize here - I came out of school in a bad economy (twice), and
am quite happy to be gainfully employed.
>
I really don't want to sit on my ass for a summer, and have been considering
>
putting together a project that I've been planning for some time. [snip]
Given your situation, the best thing you can get out of writing shareware/
freeware is experience. That's not to say you shouldn't try to sell it or
make money off it, but in the long run, unless you create a killer app and
plan to expand to provide support, increase functionality, etc., the most
lasting affect will be on your skills an experience. I used to work security
on the night shift - I had to do four tours during an eight hour shift, six
during a twelve. The rest of the time was mine if nothing went wrong, so I
would bring in my powerbook (Oy, at that time, a PowerBook 100) and hack out
stuff, or bring a book.
>
There have been several articles written recently, (Ambrosia's in particular
>
comes to mind) about getting users to pay for Shareware, [snip]
I have to wonder if maybe you're not putting the cart before the horse. Have
you written the software? Do you have your idea all planned out? If not, I
would think that you've got other worries that should come ahead of encouraging
users.
>
And for those of you out there who have released shareware in the $15-20
>
price range, anyone willing to share roughly how many copies they've sold?
>
I have absolutely *no* idea how large the market is right now.
The "market" is going to depend on a lot of things. The most important thing
to remember with shareware is that you have to provide a product at a comparatively
lower price than the commercial alternative. How much lower is a factor of
a few things, including how much support you plan to provide and how "good"
the functionality and user experience are compared with other options. There
are shareware programs going for hundreds of dollars that are worth every
penny. There are even more that are priced at $15 or $20 that are overpriced.
The Macintosh scene (pre-Rhapsody) was notorious for overcharging for underpowered
software. The influx of NeXT and Unix developers is helping the scene, but
there is still a fair amount of shareware out there that is simply not a good
value. Take a look at some of the shareware developers who are doing things
"right" - Ambrosia, Lemke, OmniGroup, Stone Studio, etc. Bottom line: if you'
re going to sell it, make it at least as polished and intuitive and full-featured
as your project manager would demand of you if you got hired into a commercial
software development team.
You need to consider what your "competition" is, how much demand there is
for your program, etc. Until you narrow the market, your question is not
going to yield any useful information. If your software fulfills a need and
works well, you will be able to find a market for it.
- Jeff
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