OT: Re: executable obfuscator?
OT: Re: executable obfuscator?
- Subject: OT: Re: executable obfuscator?
- From: "Andy O'Meara" <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:19:24 -0500
The data shows that you're dead wrong. I was actually in your camp
until a few years ago when my partners had me test two trial versions
alongside each other for several weeks. One build had various
features removed (but had ads saying that it was available in the
paid version) and the other build had all the features (and only
contained ads/nags). We randomly served each of the two builds to
all incoming free trial users and had a mechanism in place that let
us track which sales came from which version. The build that lacked
all the features of the paid version *spanked* the version that was
fully functional (and only had nags). I had to swallow my pride and
admit that my MBA partners knew better than me, but they really did
in this case. It comes down to the fact that people want to feel
like they're getting good value when they pay for something, not that
they're just paying to remove a lock (at least, in our area of end-
user software). Developers like you and I are the exception, not the
the rule. Please stop throwing your opinions around like they're facts.
On Dec 11, 2006, at 2:09 PM, Laurence Harris wrote:
On Dec 11, 2006, at 1:39 PM, Andy O'Meara wrote:
I forgot to share one of the biggest methods that's helped us
completely shutdown this 'casual piracy'. We have two dists: the
free trial version of our software and the paid version. A user
can only get their hands on a paid version of our software by
paying money and getting a license code issued. The process goes
like this, and I recommend it to all shareware devs that make end-
user software:
1) Users visit our site and download the free trial version of our
software. The free trial version is a *different* build than the
paid version (complete with #if's in the code), so there's
absolutely nothing to hack or crack -- the paid-only features just
aren't there.
I understand the appeal of this, but do you have any idea how many
sales you lose because people won't buy something if the trial
isn't fully functional? I've bought software that had features only
available to licensed users, but I've also trashed trials because
they were crippled and I didn't feel I could get an accurate idea
of how useful the full product would be to me. I'm sure it depends
on the nature of the software and the limitations imposed on the
trial version, but it is a concern.
Larry
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