Shareware has been around for a long time, and there are various flavors of it. This chapter treats about various existing shareware models for background information only.
First, there is freeware. In this model, things are quite simple: usage of the software is provided free of charge, and distribution is encouraged. No modifications to the code or credits are allowed, and nobody can charge for distributing it (except maybe for the price of the medium). In some cases, donations are suggested, but it is up to you if you want to send monetary encouragement to the author.
Then, there is what I call the "classical" shareware model, which consist of indicating in the license agreement that the software is free of charge for a specific time period, usually 30 days, known as the trial period. When the trial period is expired, the software remains fully operative, but you are required on faith's basis to remove it if you don't purchase the software. Paying for the future usage of the software usually benefits you by having support, news about releases and patches. Sometimes, nag screens are used (nagware?), as a reminder to pay your due to the author. These nag screens are disabled when you are a registered user. Cracks are also usually available on underground Usenet newsgroups and websites to illegally disable these nag screens.
A variation of the classical model, that I will call here "com-ware", is to provide the software free of charge as long as it is for personal use. If you are a business or use the shareware for commercial use, you're required to pay the licensing fee to the author if you continue to use it after the trial-period is expired. Here again, nag screens can be encountered.
Then there is "trialware", which means that the software will perform only for a restricted use, and will not be able to operate partially or completely until you pay the licensing fee for the right to use the full potential of the software. This could be software that stops to work after the trial-period is expired, or after a certain amount of tries. It could also be some functions being unavailable. There are two type of trialware: those who can be unlocked, and trialware releases. The first type is where a registration number is provided when you register so you can unlock the disabled features (much like when you get rid of nag screens). The disadvantage here again for the author is that cracks are available on the Internet. The second type is a special "trial" release, which contains only the code relating to the allowed features. If you want to purchase it, you're most likely to receive a different, complete version either on CD or from a secure-download on Internet. It is intended to replace the previous installation.
All these models all share two things in common: 1) code can not de modified, 2) it relies mostly on trusting people's honesty. It's on this point that the shareware ideology often fails to delivers it's promises.
I want to put a word also on Open Source, which is not exactly a shareware model (I think some open-source software have a price tag on it), but I want to discuss it here anyway because it allows users to modify the code to suit your purposes. This is really interesting, because it lets you participate in the development of the software. You can customize the software to suit your needs. If you come out with valuable code or bug fixes, you submit your code to the entity responsible for releasing official versions for future releases.
1. Introduction
3. A Pandora's box: spyware
Table of contents