http://www.SingersCreations.com/Advertise.asp

Yes, I do agree -- this is a very sad day indeed. I figured if I waited long enough, companies would have started giving away bandwidth for free, web hosts would have started hosting websites for free, I would be able to have someone pay my bills so I can quit my fulltime job, and people would jump out of their seats to spend every waking moment to help develop new applications at Singer's Creations for nothing in return.

Yes, I know this making revenue thing is all new to me too, EdP. Really, why can't everything just be free? I mean, come on, it's the Internet. Everything should be free, right?

EdP, you and I, let's take it to a higher level. I think we should contact Comcast, gas stations and our local grocery stores. Let's start the movement! People will no longer stand to pay for services that people work hard to provide. Let's stick it to the people!

Well, if you make your apps open source they can be hosted on the sourceforge.net host. http://www.wikipedia.org pages could describe the apps and their status. Both those sites are free.

And doesn't Google provide free web space?

By making the apps adware several security suites will ban access to SingerCreations.com or flash a warning to the potential visitor that the site contains adware.

I hope you know what you're doing.

I am shocked and horrified that you just suggested that I move my source code to a website that has an adware business plan. Not only does SourceForge sell advertising, but it also sells jobs postings for insane prices.

http://web.sourceforge.com/media-kit
http://jobs.sourceforge.net

Wow, just, wow, EdP. I cannot believe you support a website that makes money from advertising. Please write to them and strongly urge they to stop that nonsense today.



Yes, they sure do. Unfortunately, nothing is free. Do you really think they are going to give away enough bandwidth to run a decent website and host software? I know Google has a lot of nice free stuff, but they aren't stupid. Speaking of Google... did you know they make revenue from advertising?



Adware, eh? Let's take a look at one of your other free websites, wikipedia.org. According to wikipedia, "adware" is as follows:

Adware or advertising-supported software is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer after the software is installed on it or while the application is being used.

I know it's a hard thing to swallow, EdP, but businesses cannot continue to operate and grow without generating some type of revenue. In the business of software, there are only two ways to generate revenue: sell software or sell ads.

Do I understand correctly that this advertisement stuff is in the installer only? If so, I must say, that doesn't bother me at all, or at least not any more than having to uncheck "install the free Google toolbar" all the time. And if that's what it takes to keep elegant software like this available for free, that's okay with me.

I'm a little concerned by "Access realtime graphs and statistics to track your ad views and clicks" because that implies the installer is sending back information beyond my control. A little more specifics there might be useful to allay concern.

There is a big difference between a website that includes ads, similar to yours, and an app that I have downloaded to my hd and includes ads.

If you want to make money off of WWL make it shareware. Or make it a normal purchased app with a 90 day free trial. Sell it for $2, something ridiculously low so people are embarassed not paying it, and you will make a fortune based on the download numbers I've seen.

MKairys, that is correct. I am only displaying ads in the setup. The stats do not track anything that cannot be found in a web server log.

On Softpedia.com Weather Watcher's License is currently shown as Freeware. If ads become a part of the installer Softpedia will classify Weather Watcher as Adware, for the same reason UnLocker is classified as adware.


I would have to assume other download sites would do the same. Something to think about I guess.

In that you have two versions of Weather Watcher you could try the ads in one and not in the other and see the impact, if any, of the change.

Weather Watcher: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/W ... cher.shtml

Unlocker: http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Sys ... cker.shtml

EdP, that's funny that a website that spams developers to post their "100% Clean" ad is flagging freeware applications as adware. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do if websites like that choose to redefine what adware means.

Sure there is. You can not do those things that they use to classify an app/utility/product as adware. The classification has nothing to do with the price of the app.

I think the bottom line is that Mike does spend a huge amount of time creating and maintaining these programs. I think he should deserve revenue (donations plus ad-clicks).

I agree with the steps he's making. At least these are installer based and not part of the program. If softpedia.com chooses to lists this as Adware now they've really stretched the definition to suit their needs.

I don't disagree. If Mike chooses to repackage his app as shareware or outright buyware it would be perfectly reasonable.