The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Shareware and Melbourne PC User Group Ian Rankin |
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Before writing about the Shareware Library it might be necessary to define the contents of the library. Below are definitions of programs that have been and are in the shareware library.
Public Domain Software
This is software that is not copyrighted. "Public Domain" is a legal term and means, precisely, "not copyrighted". It can be used and distributed freely.
Freeware
The term "freeware" has no clear accepted definition. It is material in which the author retains rights but makes it freely available without charge for anyone to use for their own non-commercial purposes, or to copy and provide to others. It does not permit modification and the source code is not available.
Shareware
Shareware is software in which the author retains rights and makes it available to others to evaluate. If it meets their needs it may be retained for continuing use but the user is obliged to pay the author the stated fee. If it does not meet the user's needs, they must remove it from their system. It may be copied and passed on to others for evaluation, without charge (except for small media and copying costs). Nowadays, most shareware has limitations. You can still use it, but often the program has a limitation on the number of times it can be used, or more commonly a date limitation.
Try Before You Buy
This means exactly that. You can install the program, usually for so many days and then it will cease to function.
How It All Began
The shareware library was started at the same time that the Group was formed in 1984. Lloyd Borrett, Melb-PC founder and inaugural President, donated 40 volumes (disks) of public domain software that he had purchased from the New York Amateur Computer Club. David Jitts was the Group librarian and established contact with the Boston and New York clubs in USA to source programs. In 1985 Leon Cohen became PD Librarian. Leon developed a CRC check program and Library software disks were sold to members for $10 per diskette (five and a quarter inch) and the fee included the diskette, copying and handling. The disks were available in two formats, single sided, 160 KB, and double sided, 360 KB. It was not until 1987 that Double Sided Double Density (DSDD), three and a half inch format disks were offered for $12 each.
The Group received a substantial financial benefit as a result of the freely donated time and effort by members in the distribution of PD software, and still does to this day.
By June of 1984, the first Library catalogue was published, and sold for $5 and a Public Domain SIG had been formed and was meeting on a regular basis. A review of PD software was published in PC Update in March 1985 with a more detailed review the following month. In February 1986 a special edition of PC Update was printed called "Public Domain Special Issue" and contained 37 pages. There was a complete listing of most volumes (disks) together with a complete description of the contents.
Leon Cohen and John Beck were by this time the Public Domain SIG Conveners. Doug Brooke also assisted with the SIG which met monthly at St. Marks, Camberwell.
A catalogue of all disks held by the Group's library was published on a regular basis. This catalogue was on disk and comprised the numbers and titles of the disks, plus a description of the contents. Programs were referenced by 80 categories.
During this time, programs were obtained from a number of sources, mainly from USA, from PC-SIG and NYACC. About 30% were purchased from PC-SIG, USA at a cost lower than available from PC-SIG's Australian agent, Manaccom, who sought unsuccessfully to charge us a $5 royalty on each disk distributed. Disks were also supplied to and exchanged with other user groups including Sydney PC User group and the Brisbane and Perth PC User groups. Shareware program updates were also obtained from our Bulletin Board.
The Monthly Meetings were the principal place for selling the disks. By 1987 the Group had 1500 members and the Monthly Meetings usually attracted 200 or more members.
By this time the Library comprised over 1000 disks and the entire set was taken to every monthly meeting so that disks could be purchased by members. The Librarian had available initially one, then three, bit-copiers for copying. That was all these machines could do - a one for one copy. It was a rather slow process so orders were taken before the meeting, and two or three members of the
Shareware team would copy these during the course of the meeting. Orders were picked up at the break or the conclusion. This method of distributing programs at the monthly meeting proved to be very successful and is still in operation today.
By the middle of 1988, it became very obvious that the income from the sale of the Library disks had become a significant factor in the Group's finances.
The Bulletin Board was expanded to 2 lines in 1988 and to multiple lines in 1989. Many felt that when members could download the programs themselves, it would have an impact on the sale of Library disks. This did not happen. The modems were so expensive and slow that the members seemed to prefer to obtain their programs from the Library.
In 1989, David Webster joined the Library team and became the Librarian in 1993. David and his family became very much involved in obtaining new material, plus production and distribution of what had now become known as the Shareware Library. David and his two sons, Glenn and Ian, and his wife, Yvonne, combined to turn the collection, cataloguing and distribution into almost a cottage industry.
Glenn and Ian would tour swap meets buying shareware and they both were members of various Bulletin Boards. They visited newsagents as magazines were now coming out with CDs on the front. Shareware was also obtained from contacts overseas.
| Year |
Shareware
Sales $000s |
Internet
Subscriptions $000s |
| 1984 |
(Sales incorporated into general accounts) |
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| 1985 | ||
| 1986 | ||
| 1987 | 13 | |
| 1988 | 40 | |
| 1989 | 57 | |
| 1990 | 61 | |
| 1991 | 53 | |
| 1992 | 118 | |
| 1993 | 74 | |
| 1994 | 23 |
( In general accounts) |
| 1995 | 23 | 51 |
| 1996 | 26 | 262 |
| 1997 | 30 | 438 |
| 1998 | 26 | 555 |
| 1999 | 0 | 663 |
| 2000 | 0 | 756 |
| 2001 | 0 | 682 |
| 2002 | 6 | 704 |
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Table 1. Shareware sales over the years showing the recent effect of the Internet |
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At about this time, the Group provided the Webster family with two computers and
the entire shareware library was transferred from floppy disk to two computers -
one at the Webster's home and the other at the Melb PC Office. These machines
had removable hard drives and thus the library was kept up to date and expanded.
One machine was taken to every monthly meeting and orders were filled on the
spot.
From 1994, the combination of cheap higher speed modems and even cheaper
Internet access has caused a significant impact on shareware, as can be seen in
Table 1 above.
In 1996/97, the Australian government decided that all games we wanted to put
into our shareware library had
to be submitted to the Office of Film and
Literature Classification for approval and rating. This was to cost a
considerable amount of money for each game submitted. Games were and are a very
popular part of the shareware world and the removal of this asset cost us a
considerable amount in income.
In 1996 and then in 1998, firstly Glenn and then Ian, completed their high
school education and became more involved in the Scouting movement and as a
consequence moved away, to a certain extent, from the business of shareware. So
by late 2000 David decided that he would like to retire from the shareware
portfolio and I took it over.
In 2001 we continued as before but even with reducing the prices of the disks,
it became obvious that a rethink was necessary. Shareware programs were getting
larger and thus more floppies were needed and thus more cost to the member. So I
suggested to the committee that all the shareware collected for the month be put
onto one CD and be sold for $5 each. This was approved with the addition to the
disc of the Internet configuration kit, a couple of browsers and some handy
utilities. This was done and the first monthly disc reached the February 2002
meeting.
This disc now seems to have acquired a life on its own. On the September disc
you will find five browsers, three e-mail and newsgroup programs, the entire
listing of the Melb PC Book Library, various utilities plus the usual 30
shareware/freeware programs.
From time to time we put 'Specials' on the disc and these could be Service
Packs, free versions of Office and so on. Program suites larger than 100 MB are
not uncommon.
We have travelled a long way from the 160 KB disk of 1984 to the 650 MB CD of
today, and the price has been halved!.
I thank, in no particular order Lloyd Borrett, Doug Brooke, David Webster and
Leon Cohen for their help in compiling this article. Most of the information
came from their memories, but the writing is mine, so any errors are mine alone.
Reprinted from the September 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
