Gourt Home::Gourt :: Nagware
Nagware or Begware is a term of distinction used to differentiate between types of shareware software. Other types of shareware include demoware, crippleware, and freeware.
Nagware (also known as annoyware) is a type of shareware, that reminds — or nags — the user to register it by paying a fee. It usually does this by popping up a message when the user starts the program or, worse, intermittently while the user is using the application. These messages can appear as windows obscuring part of the screen or message boxes that can quickly be closed. Some nagware keeps the message up for a certain time period, forcing the user to wait to continue to use the program.
The intent, of course, is that the user will become so annoyed with the messages that he/she will register it just to get rid of them. Naturally, there is a fine line to be walked — if reminders are too annoying, users may abandon a program without even evaluating it fully, which is as much a lost sale as a failure to register.
Developers who employ the practice report that shareware with less intrusive reminders garner only a fraction of the registrations of nagware and theorize that if users aren't regularly reminded that they should pay for a particular piece of software, they tend to quickly forget.
An example of this is Goldwave, a popular and flexible sound editor/creator. At the beginning of usage of the unregistered version, a help file will appear reminding the user to register. At the bottom of the window is a "Toll Bar", that increases in toll for every "command" that is executed. After the toll reaches a certain amount, the program will open a message box telling you to register for every command you execute. The Toll Bar is reset when the program restarts, and goes away completely when the program is registered.
Other examples are WinRAR, mIRC, and SmartFTP. Both of these programs pop-up a window after your trial is up to tell you to buy the program. WinRAR usually does it when you are trying to uncompress something, which is even more annoying.
Large Corporations incorporating Nagware
As of April 2006, Microsoft has incorporated nagware into its Windows Genuine Advantage program, a program that checks to see if your computer is using a licensed version of Windows XP. If it detects that the user's copy is an unauthorized copy, it displays a banner image in the bottom-right corner of the user's screen during startup, and during startup, one popup before the user logs in, and one after. When the user is logged in, the program adds itself to the user's task tray (without the user's consent) and continuously shows a "bubble" of text urging you to buy an authorized copy of Microsoft Windows. It also disables Windows Update and the automatic update feature.
External links
NAGWare is the name given to Numerical Algorithm Group's collection of Fortran compilers and development tools produced for those involved in technical computing. The NAGWare portfolio consists of the NAGWare f95 Compiler, NAGWare Fortran Tools and the NAGWare Gateway Generator that enables the seamless integration of Fortran subprograms with MATLAB.
External link
"Nagware"