Zalen

The list isn't bad. Alarm Clock Pro, Soulver, Cha-Ching. These are apps that have either been done before or serve a very niche role. But that doesn't matter because they're free? Right? On top of that, each puzzle gives me $2 off some super-bundle to come at the end. In fact, the current MacHeist list I have so far says that I have $144.75 for free. Wow.

I'm put in mind of the economy of digital theft. Music and movie industry representatives put great store in saying how much money they lost over pirated content, as though "lost" is the same as "never had". In the case of MacHeist, I'm being told I have $144.75 in shareware, only somehow it's become the opposite of digital theft. I'm being told someone's stuffing huge wads of dollar bills into my pocket, or at least software of equal value.

The reality is a little different. Of the nine programs currently on the list, one of them comes with a serial number and can be upgraded and the others are locked to that version. And that upgradable app? Yeah, it's in beta. There's no telling whether or not the serial number will extend to the finished program. So what I have, in fact, is my choice of limited trial licenses, billed at current application price. From a marketing standpoint it's a great idea, and I applaud it, but just as the music industry is overvaluing their loss, these companies are overvaluing my gain.

Now, I know these are shareware companies and they're unlikely to come beating down my door for not paying, but to tell me that I have a $25 app when I have maybe half of that is worth a healthy eye-roll. When I pay for a program I'm not just paying for the effort you put into making it, but I'm also paying for the effort of getting all the bugs out and the security that if I do have a major problem with the app you'll do something about it. I may or may not be paying for the extra features to come later, but that gamble is on my shoulders. My eye-rolling comes from billing functional demos as full-priced apps.

There are kickers to this, but they're hardly worth in-depth study. I'm unlikely to use all of these applications. I'm certainly unlikely to get more than 15% off the final package, because nobody is going to pay for crippled software and the Delicious Generation programmers are quickly learning that giving things away for substantially cheaper or free is a huge gamble.

Because I'd only play around with these programs, having them limited in scope is quite alright, and the companies get exposure to people who might then pony up $20 for the full thing, so in a way, everyone wins. They're big demos, presented in a fun way, with an increasingly active community of junior sleuths. Do we get something for our troubles? Oh yes, but it's worth about as much as we put into it, and that's not $144.75.