filbo@gorn.santa-cruz.ca.us (Bela Lubkin) (06/30/90)
In <3338@crash.cts.com> Harv Laser wrote: >Micropro did something real interesting a couple years ago. They took out >full page ads in PC World and that ilk and announced the "WordStar >Upgrade Amnesty Plan." > >They'd just released a new MAJOR upgrade of WordStar (can't remember >which version it was) which listed for $495.00. They would sell this >upgrade (the FULL sales package - box, manuals, buncha disks, warranty, >etc.) to anyone who provided a serial number from ANY older version of >WordStar, for $79.95. YOu edidn't have to send in any old-version disks, >you didn't have to send in _anything_ except a remittance and a serial >number. > >I have no idea how their amnesty upgrade turned out nor how many new >sales it generated (I'd like to know these things) but it was a novel >approach to the old problem . BTW, WordStar's serial number appears >onscreen each time any version of the program is run so one didn't even >have to have any original label disks to get the number... it was >obviously an appeal to get WordStar pirates to go legit and buy the >real thing. I've never seen this done before or since by any software >company. I also have no idea how it turned out. I do strongly believe that piracy MADE WordStar. I cut my teeth on pirated WordStar (1.6?) under CP/M. As a result, two different employers later bought two entire WordStar installations for my use on the job. Several of my friends bought it on my recommendation. WordStar was widely pirated. Many early CP/M and MS-DOS users got so used to its editing sequences, they built them into unrelated packages like dBASE, Turbo Pascal and SideKick. People who then started on one of THOSE packages were later influenced to buy WordStar by its familiarity. I see MicroPro's $80 offer as almost an *acknowledgement* to the pirates. They might have made more money in the early days if every user had bought a copy -- but with a much smaller user base, would they still be in business today? Some of the same things could be said about Bill Gates' BASIC interpreter, also widely pirated. Look how badly that hurt him... (Before the reader starts frothing at the mouth: I'm not advocating piracy. I AM, however, sick of this black-and-white attitude everyone has.) >Bela< Bela Lubkin * * // filbo@gorn.santa-cruz.ca.us Why do I mention CI$?? @ * * // belal@sco.com ...ucbvax!ucscc!{gorn!filbo,sco!belal} R Pentomino * \X/ Filbo @ Pyrzqxgl +1 408-476-4633, XBBS +1 408-476-4945