Selling Software - Shareware, Piracy, and Profit?

qjereq asks: "A few months after being laid off from a large corporation early last year, I decided to create some image browsing software to sell on the web and, perhaps later, in stores. Unfortunately, besides competing with hundreds of other similar shareware and freeware products, I have found that the bulk of my product's downloads come from pirate web sites. I have tried unsuccessfully to make my software hack-proof. I have also looked into selling the product in-stores, but I have only heard bad things about this including the possibility of having to eat the cost of returned merchandise. I am running low on cash and am on the brink of giving up, but I know that the product is good. Do any Slashdot readers have any success stories about how they were able to make money by selling software? My product is currently sold as Shareware. Should I consider a combination of Freeware and a Full Version? Is it worth the hassle of trying to get onto store shelves? Help."

Comments

Re:Don't get your hopes up.

[Catharsis]

But the real question to you is. Did you pay for opera? Did you make a donation to Apache and all the other OSS software you are using? In short did you fully pay for all software you ever used? No then shut the fuck up. You steal we steal. If you did, then give yourselve a pat on the back, there will no doubt be a place for you in heaven, with just a little bit of hell for infringing on acdsee's trademark. :P

I thought the whole idea behind software being Free was that payment was optional, and that no one should be coerced, guilt tripped, or insulted into paying for something they either don't want to, or can't afford.

If you choose to support Apache, good for you. You're doing good work.

Kindly remember that theft is not piracy (piracy is copyright infringement), and that using software which is freely given away is not even piracy.

Cheers.