said by Nightfall:What about the software makers who make a living off sales of shareware and get ripped off? I know no one cares about the profits of microsoft, but what about the small software companies?
The small software makers who do not have the marketing capital to get their wares to the public normally benefit more from this model. In regards to shareware most of that software is easy to find without the use of P2P because the developers let most legit download sites post for them. Since shareware is mostly about donations or purchasing the full version P2P doesn't seem to affect them.
I did do a bit of software digging on P2P out of curiosity, and what I found is that most shareware offered is the free version. Not the full version. Granted there are hundreds of programs out there and I can no way check all of them, but at the same time some of the programs I decided to download. Sure enough that download had all the instructions and data available telling me where to donate or buy the upgrade. Either the file sharers took the shareware version or maybe some developers are seeding the P2P landscape themselves.
Another thing to note regarding the fear of software being traded. It's essentially just that. One shining example is a game that came out not too long ago called Galactic Civilizations II. The game was completely DRM free and could be completely loaded onto your computer without needing the CD to run the game. The developers specifically said they will not restrict their game and were very open in their supporting web site. It was the top selling software title it's first week out in many stores (not game title, software overall) and additional orders from stores like Best Buy, EB Games and Gamestop far exceeded expectations.
This is a small company (Stardock Systems) and they made these sales by word of mouth (and glowing reviews). In spite of the fact this game had to have been a treasure trove for freeloaders to just download since there was no DRM the game still became a major hit.
In this crazy "download for free" world there are still plenty of people who will spend money on a good product. File sharing is not the problem. As you know my stance on the try before you buy model for P2P makes it extremely useful to both consumers and artists. The mentality of not buying anything is the problem, and that has to be dealt with on each individual basis.
