Abandonware
Abandonware is almost self-explanatory. It is software which has been orphaned by the big (or little) firm that once owned it. They no longer sell it or support it.
If they no longer profit from, or otherwise support it, what difference does it make if it is copied and distributed? Sites like http://www.the-underdogs.org have all your old DOS favourites, and even some of your early Windows ones, except those "under protection" by the IDSA.
It is the IDSA's job to go after distributors of its member's software.
The fact is; the firm makes no profit and no business from its abandoned software. Distributing it acts almost like advertising, yet these members of the IDSA are against this for some reason.
Rockstar (creators of Grand Theft Auto) after releasing GTA3, put the original GTA up on their website for free.
Places like http://www.the-underdogs.org/ host abandoned games [as well as freeware] but I still fail to see why some see it as wrong.
Originally posted by DreamlaXI think it's the prerogative of the software author.
[b]Abandonware
Abandonware is almost self-explanatory. It is software which has been orphaned by the big (or little) firm that once owned it. They no longer sell it or support it.
If they no longer profit from, or otherwise support it, what difference does it make if it is copied and distributed? Sites like http://www.the-underdogs.org have all yo ...[text shortened]... rg/ host abandoned games [as well as freeware] but I still fail to see why some see it as wrong.[/b]
The idea is the user of the software is profiting from the authors labor, so the there is nothing wrong with the author requiring some reward.
However, the goodwill the author gets may be better compensation. And there's the difficulty of enforcing the license, and the bad will the author would get from users who do not get any software support.
Say I write a program and charge $100. And a year latter I offer an upgrade for $30. If you give your old software away, I have lost a potential new user - and the income from that user. So maybe I put in my software license that you may transfer your license if the new owner pays a licensing fee. Or I may say that I will not allow a transfer of the license - but I decided to give aways my 2-year old version for the goodwill benefits. Either way, no one has a right to use the software I author unless I give them that right.