There are two issues here and I think they're really separate. Spyware and Payments.
i don't want, and will do everything i can to remove, any spyware on my system. if that's the only way developers can think of to make money they've got a bad imagination and a low opinion of their customers, and that means us.
let's get real here for a minute. more people sharing on a network increases the value of that network and the program along with it. so it's in the interests of software developers to get as many copies of hareshare or porkster out there on line and working.
the true value that any network has, its' "assets", is the amount of available files on its' hosts and those files come from the customers, not the companies. not to take anything away from the hard work put in by these creative developers but no one actually cares if their app was made by a vinnie or a pablo - that's irrelevant to the vast majority of regular users (sorry guys). what users care about is finding - and quickly downloading - the file they want when they want it.
sometimes i think it's the customer who should be paid, (the uploader acts like a store after all) who can then in turn send a bit along to the file creators.
but in a sense that's how it's being done already. the customers provide the bandwidth and the files and in return they get a crack at the stuff on other pc's, while hopefully the artists see their bookings increase and bottom line improve.
and if a developer asked me for a buck or two to pay for his hot new app, and he'd provide a bit of tech support along with it (instead of having me run his help line) i'd give him that buck or two. but as it is now, since we provide the files, bandwidth and the tech support, i try not to listen to their old whine any more than i have to.
- js.
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