History of shareware, the initial version of the organization of purchases within the application

Before the advent of the software (software), the sales worked like this: you went into the store, bought a certain item, and it belonged to you until it became outdated or damaged, and you did not throw it away. But software, taking up much less physical space than any sales items before, was not limited by these rules. Data was stored in bits and bytes, and could be distributed in completely different ways.

And the data decreased every day. Floppy disks gave birth to smaller floppy disks that gave birth to hard disks that gave birth to a CD-ROM ... And if you had a modem, you didn't even need a disk! Therefore, it is not surprising that in the wake of copying floppies, shareware, shareware appeared, because there was a need for a business model that encourages copying.
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Let's talk about how shareware was important for modern business models in the computer world.

You are probably used to buying expensive advertised programs, and bringing them home in the hope that they will do what is required of them. And often you find that they do not meet expectations. The shareware model allows you to choose from a variety of high-quality programs and try them out until you find the one you like the most. And only then you pay the low cost of registration to the author of the program.

This is an explanation of the value of shareware in the introductory directory of The Software Labs, the shareware distributor by mail. A fairly good catalog from 1992, which thanks to the Internet archive can be enjoyed today (a smaller version ), offers a huge number of games, educational and graphic programs. On the other hand, there are only seven business applications in it - which indicates exactly which programs were created by the authors who made shareware. In the early 90s, such directories were common when people without modems had to buy software in the real world.

Five shareware programs that changed the world of computing

1. PKZIP . The compression utility created by developer Phil Katz in the late 80s compressed files so efficiently that it became the de facto standard used right now. Katz, after legal problems with a similar .arc format, made the .zip format open, and took money only for the implementation of this format. As a result, he got a hit. But his life was very difficult, he died in the year 2000.

2. McAfee Antivirus . Before the mention of John McAfee began to appear in interesting headlines , he conducted an innovation on the antivirus market, becoming the first to offer such programs in shareware format. The result was so effective that his program quickly caught up with Symantec's Norton Antivirus - especially after creating a successful media campaign about the Michelangelo virus.

3. Wolfenstein 3D . Of course, this game was followed by Doom and Quake (and Duke Nukem 3D), but the sales strategy of this famous game - which has become an innovation that has surpassed all modern toys - proved to skeptical players that shareware games were not second-class programs. Doom may have had more influence, but Wolf3D proved the model's viability.

4. ZZT . The first game, released by Epic Megagames , is the opposite of what this company, now known as Epic Games, is releasing today (for example, the Unreal Engine ). But the logic of development is visible. The game, built on ANSI-graphics, has become special for fans thanks to the built-in editing tools - which determined the company's future approach to games. As in the case of Wolfenstein 3D, the success of this game prepared the scene for the release of one of the companies that defined the gaming market in the 21st century.

5. Trumpet Winsock . For years, Microsoft did not notice the Internet, but shareware filled this niche for Windows 3.0 and 3.1. In particular, the shareware version of the Windows Sockets API became necessary for many users who wanted to try earlier versions of graphical browsers like Mosaic and Netscape. Microsoft decided that they needed their own version for all this, and indirectly earned a lot of money. Alas, the creator of Trumpet Winsock Peter Tattam [Peter Tattam] practically did not get anything for his widespread software.


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Three people, three applications, one great idea: shareware history

The concept of shareware can be attributed to three different people , each of whom offered a slightly modified version of what later became shareware.

In 1982, computer developer and editor of the magazine Andrew Flugelman [Andrew Fluegelman] issued a software for communications PC-Talk, an application that he distributed on a model called them freeware. He received the rights to this term, which had little to do with the modern concept of freeware, as free software. The software could be distributed freely, but he demanded that those who liked him send by mail $ 25 to him - he called this model more economic than altruism. PC-Talk deserved a good review in PC Magazine, where Flugelman worked at that time.



“The inventive communication program created by the editor Andrew Flugelman is elegantly written, works without problems, and is free for everyone,” wrote columnist Larry Magid.

Approximately at the same time IBM employee Jim Knopf [Jim Knopf] (also known as Jim Button [Jim Button]), developed a program for working with a database, and selling it using a similar model called Easy-File. Soon Knopf and Flugelman met in person, and apparently out of solidarity with their common model, Knopf renamed his application to PC-File and launched his own company, Buttonware.

In the essay on the origins of shareware, Knopf noted that the sales innovation strategy had aroused heightened interest in his company. “It was a radically new advertising idea, and computer magazines were very interested in writing about such things,” he wrote. “The result was a lot of free PC-File ads.”

The following year, a Microsoft employee named Bob Wallace [Bob Wallace] left the company and created his own, QuickSoft, whose first program was PC-Write. It was Wallace, who helped other novice authors of programs with advertising, and became the one who came up with the memorable name of this marketing strategy: Shareware. (It was much better than Knopf's idea: “user-supported software”).

The strategy quickly spread and was followed by other independent developers. Computer clubs across the country took advantage of its benefits by offering its members new software under this scheme, which also contributed to its spread.

As a result, shareware has become organized. In April 1987, the Association of shareware professionals emerged to ensure the security of software distribution under this scheme, as well as to preserve the rights of software manufacturers. The organization checked the distribution sources of such software, and created standards that independent vendors could follow for their own good. If you have ever stumbled across a FILE_ID.DIZ file in a ZIP archive, you should blame the Association for the appearance of it. This is a text file describing software features.

The concept of shareware, obviously, has become a viable idea that has overtaken and outlived its creators. Wallace died in 2002, Knopf in 2013, Flugelman, with the most tragic fate of them, in 1985. But their legacy lives on.

I have never had so many social connections and have not communicated with so many such different people as I did after I started working on computers.

A quotation from a material dedicated to Andrew Flugelman, published in Infoworld, by Kevin Strehlo. The material came out in honor of the disappearance of this developer and editor of the magazine in 1985. Flugelman 's legacy had a strong influence on the computer world. He not only invented shareware, but also was the founder and editor of PC World and MacWorld. But he had health problems, he developed cancer, and he suffered from colitis. He disappeared, his body was never found, and he is presumed dead.

As stated in a 1985 article on Newsbytes, Strehlo left his journal because of this article, because the editor decided not to publish her last few paragraphs, which described the circumstances of Flugelman's disappearance, and pointed to the possibility of his suicide. You may also be interested in reading MicroTimes interview with Flugelman, reprinted on Medium .

How adware spoiled the good name of shareware

Shareware was not an ideal business model — obviously, most people used the software for free — but, despite Flugelman's initial statements, it was rather altruistic. It allowed small developers to survive, and allowed users to try different versions of the software without spending thousands of dollars on it at Best Buy .

The problem is that altruism, which was built into the model when it was launched, did not live up to the second generation of developers.

In the early years of Windows XP, the model broke. The reason for this was several factors, including the identity of websites that distributed shareware, websites that distributed programs containing adware - this problem persists to this day .

Sometimes adware turned into programs like Gator, which claimed the presence of useful properties, and at the same time included an advertising network with pop-up banners. The company that made Gator denied its connection to adware and changed its name many times, right down to its inevitable closure.

But most often, malware with advertisements accompanied the program as an unwanted guest, ready to trash your computer at any second. As if reflecting this shift in shareware reputation, the Association of shareware professionals in 2010 changed its name to the Association of Software Professionals.

The association explained in a blog post that “the need to distribute software by distributing diskettes or sending checks by mail has disappeared. Many consumers began to perceive shareware as 'amateurishness'. ”

Of course, shareware also has its own niche - software developers for Mac, for example, Panic and Rogue Amoeba have gained a good audience, distributing software using schemes that are essentially shareware. But in general, downloading software has become too dangerous for shareware to flourish. This is unfair, but it is a fact. The shareware recession has opened up other types of software distribution, such as open source software, freemium software, or software as a service (SaaS).

Also, opportunities have opened up for approaches similar to the App Store, when there is a moderation that prevents any debris from entering your digital device. This system is not ideal, and it is not shareware. But we definitely would not have reached the realities of today, do not organize some creative developers of handicraft production in the 80s and 90s.

In 1992, when The Software Labs published its excellent catalog, the Software Publishers Association released the opposite video for shareware, free of charge for everyone. The video "Don't Copy That Floppy" (do not copy this diskette) used rap to clumsily push the idea of ​​the inadmissibility of software distribution to the masses of the younger generation.



This video was quickly forgotten, and in our era, people look at it very ironically.

Shareware, supported by such hits as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Commander Keen, looked a million times cooler, and he didn’t even have to go down to a wretched rap to sell himself.

Today, we welcome even more lonely software developers. Sites like Product Hunt exist solely to honor developers who dare to meet with the unknown. It is very difficult to try to earn in such a risky way, but it is possible.

Shareware opened the way for the existence of today's independent developers. The current software culture exists, because then we decided to copy this floppy disk. And it's great, because without independent developers, our software would be disgusting.