What Exactly IS “Shareware”?
Shareware refers to software programs that are available to the general public on a “Try Before You Buy” basis. This is in contrast to software programs that are commercially available as shrink-wrapped removable media (floppy disks, CDs, etc) via the well known “Buy Before You Try, and If You Aren’t Satisfied Then Tough Shit” basis. How does this work? Well, let’s suppose a part-time computer programmer writes a computer program in his spare time and decides to market it for profit. In order to get the program onto the shelves of the local computer stores, he/she would need to come up with at least a few thousand dollars so he/she could pay some graphics designer to create a snazzy box, and hire a lawyer to deal with patents, copyrights, vendor contracts, etc. This person would also need to secure the services of distributors, subcontract a company to process the orders, and so on. What this amount to is a rather large and expensive pain in the arse. Fortunately for the multitudes of
