FREEWARE George Spragins, Palmetto PC Club There is a misconception in the minds of many users that "FREEWARE" is free. This is NOT true. The author has chosen this method of distribution to keep the cost down. The author does not have to raise his price to cover the costs of advertising, printing, marketing, wholesale or retail distribution. The price of the program, the contribution the author asks, is close to his cost. The rapid changes in the microcomputers have a price -- the programs must keep up with that change. I prefer to have the author update his work and offer it for that small fee, rather than a new commercial package. The terms freeware, shareware, user supported, etc. are descriptive names of the type of distribution methods used by the authors to disseminate their works. The methods work and may prove to be the best bargain for the PC user. The programs distributed in this fashion are for the most part high quality and rival their commercial counterparts costing many times more. This distribution method is used by local user groups to support their activities. The local group obtains the program, either directly from the author or by downloading from a bulletin board, makes copies of the program and offers the diskette to their membership for a small fee. The user group fee is in no way payment for the program, rather it is a charge to cover the cost of supplies, expenses of obtaining the program, and preparation of the disks. Any excess fee collected fund the other activities of the not for profit organization. The programs may be complete applications, enhancements to commercial packages or utilities to increase the usefulness of the PC. Regardless of the type of program the author has put many hours into the program and should be compensated for his efforts. The support of the author is in the best interest of the user group because if there were none of this type of software the local user group would be hard pressed to continue their activities. Annual dues would have to be raised, activities reduced, and other income generating methods devised if it were not for the libraries of user supported software. User groups should periodically remind their members to send the requested contribution to the author. There are several profit making companies, with names that sound like clubs, that collect programs distributed in this manner and advertise to sell "public domain" software at so much per diskette. Some of these firms have many employees and advertise in national magazines each issue. These firms are making a profit at the expense of the author, PC user group, and in the long run the user. The author because the person thinks he has "bought" the program from the firm, and therefore is not obligated to the creator. The PC club because this is some of the source of funds to pay for the activities they perform for the community. The user because if the author is not getting the compensation for his work, he will no longer be motivated to produce the software for this style of distribution. He will, as a defense, turn to the higher priced commercial distribution method and we users pay the price. One of the larger PC user groups does not have a library of their own, rather they condone a software library run by individuals for a profit. This is kind of a moot point, but there is an ethical question here. If the library were run on a non-profit basis by the club, would the majority of the membership be better served? As a business, do they truly support the shareware concept, and are they furthering the PC community or just making a profit? Perhaps there are extenuating circumstances of which I am unaware. If the user does not support the creator of the program he is the eventual loser. I would ask that you support the author, local PC club and bulletin boards that do support the distribution of "FREEWARE, Shareware, User Supported, etc." software. All will benefit from this continued distribution method, the alternative is higher priced commercial packages that are shrink wrapped, with long lead times, and premium priced up grades. One of the sad events lately is Headlands Press, the firm of the originator of "FREEWARE", has announced a new version of the PC-TALK program as a commercial product. The program is the only one the firm produces. As I was finishing this article the mail came with a letter, with a complete address (including my middle initial), inviting me to join the Value Club. The "Club" is in Canada and their annual membership fee is only $15.00. The program "rental" fee is $10.00 per disk, not to inconvenience the member the disks do not have to be returned. They do not have manuals but in many cases "are not required". The letter also reminds you that the most popular programs are represented in books at the local book stores, and "generally explain the operation of the program better than the original documentation". The toll free telephone number along with copies of commercial and "FREEWARE" diskettes sound like a good deal (if you want to RIP OFF the authors). Some of the better known commercial names are AutoCad, MicroSoft, IBM, Lotus, and dBASE. In "FREEWARE" there are PCWrite, PCTalk, Diskcat, Fansi Console, and Procomm. A special bulk discount is available, if you order 15 or more disk at $10.00 each you get 20 more "ABSOLUTELY FREE". In the fine print of the agreement it is stated that "the member's sole purpose is for preview prior to purchasing". The "club" does not support the author nor does it encourage him to spend many hours to perfect his product, and appears to be more of a commercial retort to the "FREEWARE" distribution concept. What can you do? First pay the author for the "FREEWARE" program you use, and encourage others to do likewise. Second don't support the "profit at the expense of others" businesses. Third consider the expense of creating the program yourself, the savings to be derived from its use, and then speak out at your club meeting to let others know the advantages (or disadvantages) of the package. Let's all be FAIR. If you were the author, what would you want? George Spragins, SYSOP The Clearing House (803) 738-2966 The Clearing House is run for clubs to download newsletter articles, reviews of programs and hardware, and "FREEWARE" for club libraries. There is an annual fee for support of the board of $30.00 for each service. (Far from profit making!, but does pay the monthly phone charge; however, would not come close to covering an 800 number). I thought I had better disclose this since I took such a stand. I will say that in correspondence with authors, only one objection has been stated and that was from an editor of a club newsletter not an author. This file is from The Clearing House Bulletin Board. Please call the board at the number shown to see what it may offer to your group. The board operates at 1200/2400 8 N 1, with NO color, messages, or on-line games. The Clearing House, P.O. Box 339, Elgin, SC 29045. -----==========-----