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- What is Shareware?
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- Shareware provides you with the ultimate money back guarantee.
- With most money back guarantees you pay for the product and then
- try it out and see whether or not you like it. If you don't like
- what you see or find that it doesn't do what you need, you return
- it and at some point (perhaps long in the future) you receive a
- refund. However, most software companies won't even let you try
- their products! In order to qualify for a refund, the diskette
- envelope must have an unbroken seal.
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- Shareware is different. With Shareware you get to try it for a
- limited time, without spending a penny. If you decide not to
- continue using it, you simply discard it. No paperwork, phone
- calls, correspondence, or waiting required. Shareware software
- producers feel it is the best way to distribute their products.
- You are able to try it on your own system(s), in your own special
- work environment, with no sales people looking over your
- shoulder.
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- After trying a Shareware product and deciding to continue to use
- it, only then do you pay for it. Not only that, but Shareware is
- traditionally much less expensive simply because you are paying
- for the software, not the marketing expenses that make up
- majority of the cost of most software. A one-time, one page ad
- in most popular computer publications can easily cost $20,000!
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- Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. Most
- Shareware is produced by accomplished programmers. However,
- there is good and bad Shareware, just as there is good and bad
- retail software. The primary difference between Shareware and
- retail software is that with Shareware you know if it's good or
- bad, and whether it fills your specific needs, before paying for
- it. Your registration of Shareware products provides the
- incentive for software authors to upgrade and improve their
- products and to continue to produce new, high-quality software
- for the Shareware market.
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- There is another significant advantage to Shareware - it allows
- many independent authors and small companies to make software
- available who would otherwise be discouraged from proceeding
- because of the expenses that it takes to launch a traditional
- retail software product. There are many programs on the market
- today which would never have become available without the
- Shareware marketing method. Please show your support for
- Shareware by registering those programs you actually use and by
- passing them on to others.
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- May 22, 1991 SHARE.DES (Description of Shareware) Page 1 of 4
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- For More Information:
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- If you would like to learn more about Shareware, several sources
- of additional information are described below.
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- from Dvorak*Osborne/McGraw-Hill
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- Dr. File Finder's Guide to Shareware
- ------------------------------------
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- by Mike Callahan and Nick Anis
- Foreword by John C. Dvorak
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- "[Mike's] book distills thousands of hours of his online search
- for the crown jewels of Shareware into one usable guide. As such,
- it may be the most valuable computer book you'll ever buy."
- --Jack Rickard, Publisher, Boardwatch Magazine
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- "No one combines Dr. File Finder's comprehensive knowledge of the
- Shareware genre with his good taste in software. This is sure to
- be the definitive place to look for insight and program
- information."
- --Barry Simon, PC Magazine Columnist, and Coauthor of
- Stackey, Batutil, and Ctrlalt
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- "GREAT! Every PC user will find something of value within these
- pages. This book will save you a bundle."
- --Alfred Glossbrenner
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- "If I were going to buy only one computer book, this would be
- it."
- --Tom Scott, Publisher, Telecomputing Magazine
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- About the Authors:
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- Mike Callahan, recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of Shareware
- Magazine, is a recognized expert on Shareware.
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- Nick Anis is the coauthor of several Dvorak*Osborn best-sellers,
- including Glossbrenner's Complete Hard Disk Handbook, Dvorak's
- Guide to PC Telecommunications, and Dvorak's Guide to Desktop
- Telecommunications.
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- $39.95, ISBN: 0-07-881646-7, 950 pp. 7 3/8 X 9 1/4
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- Available at many book and computer stores
- or call toll free 1-800-227-0900 (M-F, 8:30 - 4:30 PST)
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- May 22, 1991 SHARE.DES (Description of Shareware) Page 2 of 4
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- Shareware: "Try Before You Buy" Software
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- by Rob Rosenberger
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- In this book, shareware author and writer Rob Rosenberger delves
- into the very heart of Shareware, telling you who developed the
- concept and why.
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- You'll learn why these programs:
- * undercut the price of retail software
- * helped bring down the use of copy protection schemes
- * receive numerous editorial and reader survey awards
- * generate more sales than retail software in some cases
- * are falsely accused of spreading computer "viruses".
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- Rob shows you where you can find good Shareware. You'll learn to
- beware of companies that make money by abusing the "try before
- you buy" concept. And you'll discover where Shareware is heading
- in the near future.
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- "A lot of good books devote just one or two chapters to the
- concept and history of Shareware. I'm pleased to say there is
- finally a reference book on the subject."
- --Jim Button, cofounder of the Shareware concept
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- "It's filled with accurate information for anyone who wants to
- learn about one of the most significant sources of high-
- quality software."
- --Edward Mendelson, contributing editor, PC Magazine
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- Here's where to obtain a copy:
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- Shareware: "Try Before You Buy" Software
- by Rob Rosenberger
- Third Edition
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- Only $6.95!
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- Paradise Publishing Phone: (800) 233-2451
- 3111 S. Valley View Blvd.
- Suite B-105
- Las Vegas, NV 89102
- U.S.A.
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- May 22, 1991 SHARE.DES (Description of Shareware) Page 3 of 4
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- Shareware Magazine
- ------------------
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- This is a publication devoted to serving both Shareware users and
- authors. In the past it has been primarily devoted to the PC-SIG,
- but with the appointment of Mike Callahan as Editor-in-Chief it
- promises to get broader, bigger, and better.
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- "Shareware Magazine is going to get BIGGER and BETTER and its
- going to contain quite a few new sections on topics that are of
- interest to readers. There will be program reviews, a business
- software section, reviews of Shareware for the Mac, and MUCH
- MORE."
- -- Mike Callahan (Dr. File Finder), New Editor-in-Chief of
- Shareware Magazine.
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- Shareware Magazine Subscriptions
- 1030 D E. Duane Avenue
- Sunnyvale, California 94086
- Order number (800) 245-6717
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- Annual subscription rate is $20. For a limited time, available
- for $14.95 by giving Dr. File Finder's Special Order Number 2263.
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- May 22, 1991 SHARE.DES (Description of Shareware) Page 4 of 4
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