- Jim Knopf
Jim Knopf, nicknamed Jim Button ("Knopf" meaning "button" in German), is considered by many to be one of the "fathers" of
shareware (so named by fellow software veteranPeter Norton ). He released his first program,PC-File (a flat filedatabase ), in late1982 as "user supported software". He has been quoted as saying this expression not only reflected the optional payment model, but also that comments from users drove the development of later releases.He collaborated with
PC-Talk (communications software) developerAndrew Fluegelman to adopt similar names (PC-File was originally "Easy-File"), and prices, for their initial shareware offerings; they also agreed to mention each other's products in their program's documentation. Fluegelman referred to this distribution method as "freeware ".A few months later (early
1983 ),Bob Wallace followed suit, coining the term "shareware" for his similarly marketed product,PC-Write , aword processor .As of 2007 , of the three founders of shareware, Knopf is the only one still alive, despite having anear-death experience in1992 , when his heart stopped beating briefly while experiencing a heart attack. [ [http://aspshareware.org/users/history-of-shareware.asp "History of Shareware". Association of Shareware Professionals ] ]ee also
*
List of programmers
*Shareware
*Free Software References
External links
* [http://www.paulspicks.com/history.asp The beginnings of shareware]
* [http://www.sharewarejunkies.com/invjikn.htm Interview with Jim "Button" Knopf]
* [http://www.freewarehof.org/sstory.html An article by Jim Knopf]
* [http://www.ddj.com/184403976?pgno=2 Article about Jim "Button" Knopf] , from Dr. Dobbs Journal
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