Abassis Software Blog

Do's and Don't's of Shareware

Reading a good material about Do's and Don't's of Shareware, I've found this great comment from a Macintosh shareware user:


Thank you for writing the Do's and Don't's of Shareware Part I. As a shareware buyer, may I submit some relevent Do's and Don't's
that I impose upon myself? If so, I'll get straight to them:

I will buy from a developer I can communicate with.
I prefer to buy from a Macintosh-Only or a Macintosh-First developer.
I will "skip upgrade" to avoid too-frequent upgrade fees.
I will buy from a developer who will make it easy for me to pay him.
I will buy from a developer who will describe his product in one sentence.
I will buy software that comes with good documentation.
I will recommend good software to other Mackers.
I will consider properly beta testing a product if I am invited to do so.
I will ask questions about a developer and his products before I buy.

I will not buy from a developer who demands payment only thru a 3rd party payment firm.
I will not endure convoluted steps and requirements to pay a developer.
I will not buy from a developer who has ever abandoned a product.*
I will not buy from a developer whose product does not work.
I will not have demos on my Mac. Give me an adequate product description and I'll buy, give me a demo or crippleware and you'll never hear from me.
I will not buy products that require troubleshooting.
I will not buy a product that requires a dongle.
I will think twice before buying from a developer who puts IBM first (ie. "Windows and Mac")
I will not buy a product with an installer that modifies my system files (ie. the Finder Prefs file)
I will not buy a product with a deceptive installer.
I will not buy a product that has been inadequately beta tested.
I will not knowingly buy from a dishonest or unethical developer.


* Regretably, Apple is the only exception since Apple abandoned Hypercard and Claris Emailer.

Hope this is useful to you.

Thanks,
Jack


Some good lessons for my software strategy. I've been thinking about changes on the website, to make it's voice less corporate and more personal. Abassis is a software made by me, basically. You can contact me anytime. Why make it look like there's some big company behind it? Of course I want to expand, and within time there may be more people working on Abassis, so the trouble is: how to make the site friendlier, and still professional.

But changes will be made, possibly this weekend. Stay tunned!