DonationCoder.com Software > Mouser's Zone

Ideas i want to bounce off you guys

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mediaguycouk:
Just read this thread and I'd like to make one little request about this.

Think about the companies that use your software. They should donate, but if you make it so people have to register, and that registration goes into the program files folder it means that an administrator will have to do it.

If an administrator is forced to log into a pc every 30 days they will soon just say 'no you can't have it'.

I personally have paid for screenshot captor (and therefore everything else on this site) but give it to other people for free as it is useful, nag screens intact. I'm sure that there will be 2-3% of those people will take it home and donate to get rid of the messages.

Companies love freeware but you've either got to say no to them, or allow them to .msi up the file and use it until the next major revision.

Ralf Maximus:
Companies love freeware but you've either got to say no to them, or allow them to .msi up the file and use it until the next major revision.
-mediaguycouk (December 17, 2007, 05:42 AM)
--- End quote ---

This makes a lot of sense.  "Corporate IT Departments click here to request your free non-expiring corporate license".

Somebody in IT fills out a form, submits it to DC, some kind of approval cycle happens, and they get an email with a link to a downloadable version of the requested app, ready to use without a key. 

As a special bonus the name of the company is displayed in a startup splash screen, with a special "Thank you from Donation Coder" message and in invitation from users to click Help inside the program to learn how to obtain their own, free copy.

It'd mean some work to manage these requests (and recompile each time, or engineer a new "corporate" mechanism, or something else) but until it's known how many corporations would take advantage of such a thing, it's hard to say if the juice is worth the squeeze.  If mouser gets bombed with 500 requests a month that'd be undesireable; but what if it's 1 or 2? 

Interesting idea, regardless. 

And it's fun to see a 2-year-old thread come back to life.  They're sometimes a handful at that age.  :-)

Carol Haynes:
There is a simple solution to the license being installed on individual machines across a corporate network ... how about a single ini file (say in C:\Windows or C:\Program Files\Donation Coder License) that contains the license key (or a registry key if preferred). That single key file (or registry key) would apply to all DC apps installed on a workstation and that way a system admin could simply distribute the key file or registry key remotely. When apps are installed (or run) they just check there is a properly installed central key.

It would also mean that individual users would only have to install a key once and then any app that is downloaded and installed is automatically registered without any further user intervention - it would even work for apps that used portably on a USB stick.

mediaguycouk:
HKLM would be a better place for it, then it can be set in Group Policy as well as Windows Installer. And people wouldn't just steal the key to take home.

And didn't see the date, but it looks like this thread is just as relevant now as a year ago.

Ralf Maximus:
And didn't see the date, but it looks like this thread is just as relevant now as a year ago.
-mediaguycouk (December 17, 2007, 08:26 AM)
--- End quote ---

You're right, and it is still relevant.  No disrespect intended.  I was just tickled to see something "new" pop up with 30+ preloaded responses.

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