Shareware is a marketing method for commercial software, whereby a trial version is distributed in advance and without payment, as is common for proprietary software. Shareware software is typically obtained free of charge, either by downloading from the Internet or on magazine cover-disks. A user tries out the program, and thus shareware has also been known as "try before you buy", demoware, trialware and by many other names. A shareware program is accompanied by a request for payment, and the software's distribution license often requires such a payment. Payment is often required once a set period of time has elapsed after installation. The term shareware was coined by Bob Wallace to describe his word processor PC-Write in the mid-1980s.

History

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Wallace came up with the name that stuck, but many consider the "fathers" of the shareware marketing model to be Jim Button and Andrew Fluegelman. Their coordinated offerings of PC-File (database) and PC-Talk (telecommunications) programs, respectively, pre-dated PC-Write by several months. Button referred to his distribution method as "user supported software," and Fluegelman called his "freeware." Among the three of them, they clearly established shareware as a viable software marketing method. Via the shareware model, PC-File and PC-Talk made Button and Fluegelman millionaires.

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beaTunes 2.1.1 - Analyzes your iTunes library to build better playlists. (Shareware) http://bit.ly/56xBKQ #mac
maczen (Mac Zen) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:53:56 -0000
beaTunes 2.1.1 - Analyzes your iTunes library to build better playlists. (Shareware) http://bit.ly/56xBKQ #mac
Today 2.0 - Task manager shares iCal data engine. (Shareware) http://bit.ly/6jSV6d #mac
maczen (Mac Zen) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:25:15 -0000
Today 2.0 - Task manager shares iCal data engine. (Shareware) http://bit.ly/6jSV6d #mac
Berlin Serioussepia WP Theme - Download kostenlos auf Shareware.de http://bit.ly/8Lvgvl
wpthemeguy (Chris D) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:17:25 -0000
Berlin Serioussepia WP Theme - Download kosten Subscribe to Shareware RSS feed