I think it's kinda silly for an author to be paid for having his
software distributed on a CD. Do authors get paid for having their
software available at ftp.gmd.de? I pay my service provider $22 a month
to be able to access that archive (among many) and the authors don't see
any of that. Paying someone to compile a bunch of shareware programs on
a CD is no different... it is simply giving customers another method to
access the data, and it's an important form of access for those who
can't/won't access the Internet.
Distributing shareware on a CD gets the shareware author a wider
audience. The CD compiler is performing a needed service (if it wasn't
needed, nobody would buy those CD's). He's not making money off of
other peoples' work any more than my service provider is... they're both
providing a method to access the same data.
The shareware author gets paid when the end user registers the software.
He doesn't get paid by his distribution network... he is (or should be)
thankful that a FREE (to him) distribution network exists to get his
product into the end user's hands. Non-shareware companies pay to have
their product distributed to places the end user can buy them. (Of that
$50 purchase price, the company sees only a small part.) Without that
distribution network, shareware wouldn't work.
(Just my opinion.)
-- Carl (ravenpub@southwind.net) * Keep honking... I'm reloading.