105 lines
5.7 KiB
INI
105 lines
5.7 KiB
INI
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄ¿ ³ (r)
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Äij ³o ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÁÐÄÄ¿ ³ Association of
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³ ³ ³ÄÙ Shareware
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ÀÄÄij o ³ Professionals
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ÄÄÄÄÄij º ³ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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ÀÄÄÄÄÐÄÄÄÄÙ
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What Is Shareware?
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You've probably heard the terms "public domain", "freeware"
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"shareware", and others like them. Your favorite board probably has
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many programs described by one or more of these words. There's a lot of
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confusion about and between these terms, but they actually have specific
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meanings and implications. Once you understand them you will have a
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much easier time navigating the maze of programs available to you, and
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understanding what your obligations are, or aren't, with each type of
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program.
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Let's start with some basic definitions.
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"Public domain" has a very specific legal meaning. It means that the
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creator of a work (in this case, a piece of software) who had legal
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ownership of that work, has given up ownership and dedicated the work
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"to the public domain". Once something is in the public domain, anyone
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can use it in any way they choose, and the author has no control over
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the use and cannot demand payment for it.
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If you find a program which the author has explicitly put into the
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public domain you are free to use it however you see fit, without paying
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for the right to use it. But use care -- due to the confusion over the
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meaning of the words, programs are often described by others as being
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"public domain" when in fact they are shareware or free, copyrighted
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software. To be sure a program is public domain you should look for an
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explicit statement from the author to that effect.
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"Copyrighted" is the opposite of public domain. A copyrighted program
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is one where the author has asserted his or her legal right to control
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the program's use and distribution by placing the legally required
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copyright notices in the program and documentation. The law gives
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copyright owners broad rights to restrict how their work is distributed,
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and provides for penalties for those who violate these restrictions.
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When you find a program which is copyrighted you must use it in
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accordance with the copyright owner's restrictions on distribution and
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payment. Usually these are clearly stated in the program documentation.
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Maintaining a copyright does not necessarily imply charging a fee, so it
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is perfectly possible and legal to have copyrighted programs which are
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distributed free of charge. Such programs are sometimes termed
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"freeware", though this term was in fact trademarked by the late Andrew
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Flugelman and the legality of its use by others could be questioned. In
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any case, the fact that a program is free does not mean that it is in
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the public domain -- though this is a common confusion.
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"Shareware" is copyrighted software which is distributed by authors
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through bulletin boards, on-line services, disk vendors, and copies
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passed among friends. It is commercial software which you are allowed
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to try out before you pay for it.
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Shareware authors use a variety of licensing restrictions on their
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copyrighted works, but most authors who support their software require
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you to pay a "registration fee" -- the purchase price of the software --
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if you continue to use the product after a trial period. Some authors
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indicate a specific trial period after which you must pay this fee;
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others leave the time period open and rely on you to judge when you have
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decided to use the program, and therefore should pay for it.
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Occasionally a shareware author requires registration but does not
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require payment -- this is so-called "$0 shareware".
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The shareware system and the continued availability of quality shareware
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products depend on your willingness to register and pay for the
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shareware you use. The registration fees you pay allow authors to
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support and continue to develop their products.
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As a software user you benefit from this system because you get to try
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the software and determine whether it meets your needs before you pay
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for it. Authors also benefit because we are able to get our products
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into your hands with little or no expense for advertising and promotion.
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As a result it is not unusual to find shareware products which rival
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retail software that costs several times the amount of the shareware
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registration fee.
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ASP members' shareware meets additional quality standards beyond
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ordinary shareware. Our members' programs must be fully functional (not
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crippled, demonstration, or out of date versions); program documentation
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must be complete and must clearly state the registration fee and the
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benefits received when registering; members must provide free mail or
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telephone support for a minimum of three months after registration; and
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members must meet other guidelines which help to insure that you as a
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user receive good value for your money and are dealt with
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professionally. We also provide an Ombudsman program to assist in
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resolving disputes between authors and users. For more information on
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the ASP or to contact the ASP Ombudsman, write to ASP, 545 Grover Road,
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Muskegon, MI 49442. You can also contact the Ombudsman on CompuServe
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dia an EasyPlex (electronic mail) message to 70007,3536.
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SHAREWR.INF January 1994
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Provided by Richard Martin
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