Re: Shareware on the i - Need some opinions....

i and others have devoted personal time on projects and delivered tools
for "the masses" as open source. FWIW i don't see shareware as a
palatable solution. if companies spend money on something they generally
want the whole enchilada, support, updates, etc. with open source if they
want to change it, customize it, etc. it's on their dime and they provide
their own support, with that being said there are *many* companies that
won't touch free-ware or open source tools simply because there's not
"adequate" reasonable support.


Thanks,
Tommy Holden


From:
"Salter, James" <JSalter@xxxxxxxxxx>
To:
<midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date:
06/17/2009 07:37 AM
Subject:
Re: Shareware on the i - Need some opinions....
Sent by:
midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx



You need to check and see if code that you write belongs to you or is
the property of your company.

If you go out and try and sell "your" product, you may run into some
problems.

Thanks.
James Salter
Systems Programmer
American Cast Iron Pipe Company
phone (205) 325-3033
fax (205) 307-3833

from: "Dave" <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Shareware on the i - Need some opinions....

Hi All,

I have created a tool that has proven very effective in reducing program
dumps and help desk calls in our company. It also adds a couple of
'nice to have' features for users and programmers. I have spent some
time the past couple of weeks turning it into something customizable
enough to run in most any shop.

At this point, a lot of my personal time has gone into the program, and
I have been considering releasing it as shareware. I have not seen a
lot of shareware for the System i, and I do not know how well the market
has received shareware in the past. I am considering a very inexpensive
package - maybe a couple of dollars per user.

Definitely not going to make me rich, but maybe help get some return on
my time investment. My logic is that if it saves even one or two help
desk calls per year, then the program more than pays for itself. I want
near instant ROI. And I also do not really have time to consider
rolling out a full-blown commercial product -- although I did consider
letting someone else distribute it...

Has anyone in the group ventured into shareware for the I?

One area I wonder about is piracy. I have never used hacked/stolen
software on the I, nor do I know of any company that has done so, or
even of any software vendor who had their products illegally
distributed. Just debating how much time I should put into
licensing/anti-piracy... Would it be ridiculous to expect people to be
honest about their usage?

Anyhow, thanks for letting me think aloud. If anyone has any feedback I
would like to hear it.

Thanks,
Dave

=================
www.openDave.com


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