RickTaylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> On 08-Jul-2004 Emiliano Grilli wrote:
> } gioved?, 08 luglio 2004 alle 22:00:51, reed ha scritto:
> } > >I am prepared to spend $10.00 or $15.00 towards the
> } > >purchase of something if I know that money will be
> } > >well spent. If a couple hundred of us do that, we'll
> } > >make a hell of a contribution to our favorite project.
> } >
> } >
> } > My 20.00 $ is ready to send!! I'm not joking..
> }
> } Have you had a look at mup? It's 29$, and these are the best money I've
> } spent for a software... The paradigm is completely different from finale
> } (it is not WYSIWYG), but the synthax is much more simple than lilypond, and
> } it's very powerful, I suggest you to try the demo version:
>
> I really like the shareware idea. It's clearcut and easy.
Except that it's not. It turns away developers, it turns away users,
and it turns away distributions. When a shareware project dies, it
dies. There is no more, even if it was very good. Free software
generally dies if it sucks and/or there is no demand -- that's a natural
process of evolution.
And it helps progr
> ammers out of the "you need to work for someone else to make a living" thing.
I've encountered / heard of very few shareware developers who actually
make a decent programmer's wages from their software.
> {:} Might be nice if some of the winstuff I've already paid for would port
> though. {The vst server does take care of some of that}}
Personally, the proliferation of shareware (a.k.a. crippleware), demo
versions, watermarked pages, expiry dates, registration keys, etc. etc.
etc. was one of the biggest reasons I stopped using Windows in the first
place. It drove me nuts! Of course I wasn't prepared to pay for
something if I wasn't even sure to use it regularly (and boy am I glad
as a consumer that I didn't). But I have donated to projects that do
fill a real need in my life, whether with development time, bug reports,
or money, and will continue to do so. Everyone can do that, and more
often than not it seems like there is a greater benefit.
I don't mean to flame, rehash a tired ages-old conflict, or come across
as a raving Linux Fanatic (believe me, I do recognize that there are
several places where Linux cannot hold a candle to Windows), but please:
let's make investments that ultimately benefit everybody, not just the
developer (assuming the average small-time shareware / moneyware
developer even really "benefits") and the immediate end user.
Cheers, and let's not have a totally silly fight,
Chris
