toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy) (07/27/90)
In article <8005@fy.sei.cmu.edu> bwb@sei.cmu.edu (Bruce Benson) writes: >In article <1990Jul24.181724.12354@world.std.com> goodearl@world.std.com (Robert D Goodearl) writes: > >>P.S. Are you planning to pay for 4dos? [reason to support authors deleted] >>The version of GCP that is due out on cbip >>within the week will no longer be available as shareware (ie: no new versions) >>because there have not been enough registration fees. >I didn't register GCP because it didn't do what I needed it to do. In fact, >it had purposely been crippled to not allow what I needed it for (GIF->BMP). >Sure, I would have gotten that capability if I registered, but shareware was >intended to try-before-you-buy. Crippled shareware or maybe better called >guessware is no longer try-before-you-buy, instead it is a somewhat >functioning demo. >Some shareware get enough support that they prosper (e.g., 4dos) and it is >interesting that these are full functioning programs (counter examples would >be interesting). Actually 4DOS might be viewed as not fully functional because of the beep and delay of the shareware version, which I view an acceptable punishment for not registering (I *have* registered). >Windows Navigate is my current example of a program that I would probably buy >if I used it regularly, which I would (I think) if not for the built in >annoyances. When I get "crippleware" I generally toss it. If you can't try out all the features how can you evaluate the software? Size restrictions also bother me. Years ago I had a demo version of DBase II (for CP/M!) that placed a limit of 10 records in a database. No way to check performance, which is a critical factor in deciding on database programs. With only ten records, everything is instantaneous! I also got a form making program which required registration to get any printer driver but genaric non-graphic printer. This meant you could only generate very crude forms. How would it do on my Epson? No way to tell! 4DOS and PC-Write are good examples of fully functional, powerful programs that seem to do just fine as shareware. Acceptable ways to encourage purchase: 1. Annoyance "plea" screens that appear when you run the program, until you register. 2. Install programs that time stamp the file, requiring reinstallation after a short period of time (enough for an evaluation). 3. Printed documentation, quick reference cards, telephone support, only available after registering (but installation support should be available to evaluators). 4. Free upgrade to next version (and current if shareware copy is old) upon registering. Unacceptable ways: 1. Anything that makes running the unlicensed program difficult. 2. Insufficient shareware documentation so that you can't figure out how to use the program. 3. Missing features 4. Limited data size or inability to save work where that would cause problems of doing a full evaluation. Tom Almy toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com Standard Disclaimers Apply
mdk@cbnews.att.com (Shadow) (07/29/90)
In article <7881@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy) writes: >In article <8005@fy.sei.cmu.edu> bwb@sei.cmu.edu (Bruce Benson) writes: >>In article <1990Jul24.181724.12354@world.std.com> goodearl@world.std.com (Robert D Goodearl) writes: >> >Unacceptable ways: > >1. Anything that makes running the unlicensed program difficult. >Tom Almy >toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com >Standard Disclaimers Apply I'd like to add my 2 cents to this topic as well. How about post-registration practices. For example, I registered "AS-EASY-AS..." and a few months after I registered they changed the support policy from unlimited toll calls to unlimited support for 3 months, then you have to pay a yearly fee to get support and the newsletter. I haven't had to use the support line yet, but what if I need to make a complex spreadsheet a year from now. I have to fork over $25 before I ask the question, plus pay the bill for the phone call. Not only that, but since they lump in the newsletter with the service fee, I won't be getting any new info on upgrades or new products. When I bought their product, I bought it because of the support, newsletter, *and* product. Mike King -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UUCP:..!att!cbnews!mdk | "What's the point in being grown-up |- The Domain: mdk@cbnews.ATT.COM | if you can't be childish at times?"| Doctor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
jmorriso@fs1.ee.ubc.ca (John Paul Morrison) (08/20/90)
Yet more crippleware crap!
FLAME ON
I realise writing WIndows programs is a tough business, but where the hell do
people get off calling programs that are totally unusable SHAREWARE.
I am talking about UNICOM. It seems other programers didn't like letting users
try out their software like GCP (no longer shareware. If he let people try
it out, maybe he would have had some success with it.)
Someone said the new unicom would have the annoying features disabled.
I've got version 2, and I don't see any reference to a temporary license
number, so all I can asssume is that the program is almost completely
CRIPPLED until you plunk down $45 US, or almost $60 Canadian. I might as well
get CrossTalk fo Windows. It is probably better anyway.
DON'T REGISTER UNICOM. Personally, I think this guy is using network bandwidth
and modem time to send out 200kbytes of promo. This is worse than those stupid
Lotus demo disks. People like this give shareware a bad rap. I think the
assoation of shareware profesionals would be unhappy to see this kind of
going on.
If someone tells me I'm wrong about this, and there is a way to USE Unicom,
I'm not going to apologize, because he did this on his other versions.
FLAME not off YET!
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_| ___| E l e c t r i c a l | John Paul Morrison
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_| ___| E l e c t r i c a l | John Paul Morrison
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|/| __| U n i v e r s i t y | jmorriso@ee.ubc.ca
|-| |/__ o f B r i t i s h |-------------------------
| |_____| C o l u m b i a |ubc-cs!ee.ubc.ca!jmorriso
---- |__|/_| ------------------------------------------------------popeye@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Karl Richard Buck) (08/20/90)
jmorriso@fs1.ee.ubc.ca (John Paul Morrison) writes: >Yet more crippleware crap! >FLAME ON >I realise writing WIndows programs is a tough business, but where the hell do >people get off calling programs that are totally unusable SHAREWARE. [.....] >CRIPPLED until you plunk down $45 US, or almost $60 Canadian. I might as well >get CrossTalk fo Windows. It is probably better anyway. It's damned irritating huh? Well, I felt the same as you except I got so fed up with WinQVT being so clunky that I got desperate enough to try unicom. I must say though, their program is worth $45. I really wanted : 1. A real windows comm program 2. supported zmodem and kermit 3. had flow control 4. handled background download/uploading nicely and then of course the standard stuff. Unfortunately, Unicom is the only affordable package available. Also, I have heard on this net that there is an uncripple version available though I have yet to see it on any ftp site or BBS. Happy hunting. -- 731 Moro popeye@matt.ksu.ksu.edu "That's easy; It's the one" Manhattan, KS 66502 popeye@ksuvm.ksu.edu with the most mips or mhz.." (913)537-3666 kxb@phobos.cis.ksu.edu Apple computer commercial
carlp@hpvcfs1.HP.COM (Carl Peterson) (08/21/90)
John Paul Writes: >/ hpvcfs1:comp.windows.ms / jmorriso@fs1.ee.ubc.ca (John Paul Morrison) / 8:40 pm Aug 19, 1990 / >Yet more crippleware crap! >FLAME ON >I realise writing WIndows programs is a tough business, but where the hell do >people get off calling programs that are totally unusable SHAREWARE. >I am talking about UNICOM. It seems other programers didn't like letting users >try out their software like GCP (no longer shareware. If he let people try >it out, maybe he would have had some success with it.) GCP and UNICOM are seperate products by seperate people. The author of GCP explained that he was withdrawing GCP from the ShareWare domain because of the lack of paid registration. My point is, if you want to complain about UNICOM, complain about UNICOM. If you want complain about GCP, do so as a seperate issue. >Someone said the new unicom would have the annoying features disabled. >I've got version 2, and I don't see any reference to a temporary license >number, so all I can asssume is that the program is almost completely >CRIPPLED until you plunk down $45 US, or almost $60 Canadian. I might as well >get CrossTalk fo Windows. It is probably better anyway. Where did you get version 2.0? An anonymous ftp download? Are you sure that it isn't version 1.4? Why do you assume it's crippled? Are choices not available in the menus or documented features not present? It would help if you described the problems your having. Why should we take your word that 'CrossTalk fo Windows' is better if you haven't tried it! >DON'T REGISTER UNICOM. Personally, I think this guy is using network bandwidth >and modem time to send out 200kbytes of promo. This is worse than those stupid >Lotus demo disks. People like this give shareware a bad rap. I think the >assoation of shareware profesionals would be unhappy to see this kind of >going on. > >If someone tells me I'm wrong about this, and there is a way to USE Unicom, >I'm not going to apologize, because he did this on his other versions. > >FLAME not off YET! I really hate it when someone makes a bunch of unsubstantiated claims about how bad a program is. Worse yet, to have them go on and claim that a program they've never tried must be better. This kind of WHINING is one of the worst uses of a public media. If you have problems with a program tell us about them in detail so that we can help you get past them or avoid them ourselves. If you want to review a program, do so in a thoughtful well layed out manner that describes the pros and cons. But for God's sake don't waste people's time whining. I use UNICOM. I paid for version 1.4 and intend to upgrade to 2.0. I like it. It does most of the things I want to do. I like the fact that it supports Zmodem and Quick B. It does update the screen too slowly when I'm logging and running MS-Windows 3.0 with a 256 color driver. But Hey, for $60.00 it's great. CTP Disclaimer: The above represents my personal opinion. My employer is not responsible for my dribble. +------------------------------------------------------+ | Carl Peterson (206) 896-2745 | | Hewlett-Packard | | Vancouver Division (R&D Lab) | | P.O. Box 8906 | | Vancouver, WA 98668-8906 | | CompuServe 71301,2532 | | HPDesk: Carl Peterson/HPD300/04 | | Unix to Unix: carlp@hpvclcp | | {your path}!ucbvax!hplabs!hpvclcp!carlp | | or {your path}!ucsd!hp-sdd!hpvclcp!carlp | +------------------------------------------------------+
cdh1@eds1.UUCP (C. Daniel Hassell) (08/22/90)
jmorriso@fs1.ee.ubc.ca (John Paul Morrison) writes: /* STUFF DELETED */ >I am talking about UNICOM. It seems other programers didn't like letting users >try out their software like GCP (no longer shareware. If he let people try >it out, maybe he would have had some success with it.) >Someone said the new unicom would have the annoying features disabled. >I've got version 2, and I don't see any reference to a temporary license >number, so all I can asssume is that the program is almost completely >CRIPPLED until you plunk down $45 US, or almost $60 Canadian. I might as well /* MORE STUFF DELETED */ I also am frustrated with Unicom. I wanted a package that would allow "host-mode" access in the background under Windows. I paid to register the darn thing before discovering that it doesn't do the ANSI emulation like it claims, it saves log files with all of the ANSI codes instead of a translated to ASCII text so they are almost useless, and its host mode is broken: I have not been able to upload to a Unicom host except through another Unicom caller, so it is useless. Calls to Data Graphics were met with the request to upgrade to version 2.0 for $20. However, the ANSI emulation does not appear to have been fixed nor the Log facility. Upgrade? Fat chance! CD Hassell psuvax1!eds1!cdh1 cdh1@eds1!eds.com
mpd@anomaly.sbs.com (Michael P. Deignan) (08/23/90)
carlp@hpvcfs1.HP.COM (Carl Peterson) writes: >Where did you get version 2.0? An anonymous ftp download? Are you sure that >it isn't version 1.4? Why do you assume it's crippled? Are choices not >available in the menus or documented features not present? It would help >if you described the problems your having. Why should we take your word >that 'CrossTalk fo Windows' is better if you haven't tried it! I downloaded v2.0 from a BBS in the Boston area. >I use UNICOM. I paid for version 1.4 and intend to upgrade to 2.0. I like >it. It does most of the things I want to do. I like the fact that it >supports Zmodem and Quick B. It does update the screen too slowly when I'm >logging and running MS-Windows 3.0 with a 256 color driver. But Hey, for >$60.00 it's great. I downloaded v1.4 from the same BBS and tried it. I deleted it after about 15 minutes because all of the important functions, which I wanted to test prior to registration, were disabled. Especially since the Max baud rate was 1200 baud, and I've got my serial port locked at 19200.... The "comments" section of the download said "Not CrippleWare!", so I decided to take the two minutes and download the new version (I have a Telebit and was downloading at 19200 baud, so what the hell...) Well lo and behold! Guess what! It was "Crippleware"! Not as bad as v1.4, but for my purposes (no downloading active) it was just as bad, since the biggest feature I had to test was the downloading capabilities - since my previous experience with downloading thru windows resulted in numerous timeouts and overall "no luck". I, for one, don't support Crippleware, and will never purchase a product which is released as Crippleware to the public. MD -- -- Michael P. Deignan, President -- Small Business Systems, Inc. -- -- Domain: mpd@anomaly.sbs.com -- Box 17220, Esmond, RI 02917 -- -- UUCP: ...uunet!rayssd!anomaly!mpd -- Telebit: +1 401 455 0347 -- -- XENIX Archives: login: xxcp, password: xenix Index: ~/SOFTLIST --
rogerson@PEDEV.Columbia.NCR.COM (Dale Rogerson) (08/23/90)
In article <592@eds1.UUCP> cdh1@eds1.UUCP (C. Daniel Hassell) writes: >"host-mode" access in the background under Windows. I paid to register >the darn thing before discovering that it doesn't do the ANSI emulation >like it claims, it saves log files with all of the ANSI codes instead of >a translated to ASCII text so they are almost useless, and its host mode >is broken: I have not been able to upload to a Unicom host except through I have a short (old) Turbo Pascal program which removes the ANSI codes from files. I used it with Qmodem since it would do the same thing. Never thought it was a bug. Just thought that that was the way it was supposed to work. Hmmm, maybe I should rewirte the program for Windows and try to get it printed again. Maybe not.:-) Most of the Windows Word processors should be able to convert the files. I probably shouldn't say this since I haven't tried it. I know VI will :-) As far as Unicom goes, I used a version of it for Windows 2.1 and it replaced Qmodem (yes, I registered did you?). However, I am currently using good old Terminal. So my requirements may not be very high. If you would like the source and executable for the Pascal program please send email. (rogerson@pedev.Columbia.NCR.COM) -----Dale Rogerson-----
KTK-VK@finou.oulu.fi (Vesa Komulainen) (08/24/90)
I downloaded Unicom 2.0 from an FTP site and this version is definitely far too crippled to let me find out if the program would suit my needs. I would not make a purchase decision on the basis of a totally unusable demo like this.
thorh@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Thor Hallen) (08/29/90)
I found the constant popup "nagware" screens in Unicom so annoying that I lost interest in evaluating it. I gladly paid a registration fee for WinQVT and Telix with their polite reminders to register but not Unicom. This objectionable practice can be discouraged by supporting the viable competitive alternatives. Thor Hallen