Time-Stamping Demo programs #2

[Mark Wieder]

Jacque-

Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 9:11:08 AM, you wrote:

> I think so too. Or even just make the program slightly annoying during
> launch. Graphic Converter does that and its author has been supporting
> himself for years with it, it's hugely popular. It isn't limited in any
> way. He just inserts a 10 second wait after every launch before the 
> program becomes useable. Like most people, I used the free version for a
> couple of years until the ten seconds got so annoying I paid up. I've
> been paying for updates ever since.

I go the annoying route as well. I don't want to release crippled
versions of software because you can't get a good sense of what a
program does if it doesn't do it properly. I hate it when people do
that. I also don't want to bother with time-limited releases, because
they're not foolproof and I'd waste more time coming up with some
complex scheme for it and some idiot would come along and break it in
thirty seconds.

So I have a randomizer routine that comes into play every <random>
launches, disables the program until the next launch, and presents a
nag screen urging the user to purchase a license and stop the
annoyance. The randomizer function is in a protected substack that
also contains key functions without which the program won't work. That
prevents getting around the randomizer function by stepping past the
code or removing the substack.

-- 
-Mark Wieder
 mwieder at ahsoftware.net