Shareware

[pask]

I have for the first time downloaded shareware - but so far without any success!

After a trail-period I have decided to register as a user of this shareware. I have paid the supplier (through Regsoft.com on internet), the money have been charged to my credit card, the promised delivery period is 8 times overdue, I have chased the supplier by e-mails, but still I have not received any sign of life from the supplier.

Now I am wondering:

1. I this a common and well-known problem related to shareware?

2. Do anybody know anything about Lieuwe's de Vries?
(The product I have purchased and paid, but not received , is Busyview for EPOC32 - which by the way looks as a promising product based on my trail-period). When e-mailing to him, I get an error message telling that "the recipient mailbox is full"

[WolfUK]

I'm sorry to hear that you have had this bad experience registering BusyView. This is not a common practice but with the Psion shareware market stagnating I think that some developers have simply moved on. My suggestion would be to email an author before you register anything to check that they are still around and that they will issue you with the rgistration details once you have paid.

Regarding the registration of BusyView itself, try contacting RegSoft themselves, explain the situation and ask for a refund. I am sure that they will oblige. I cannot help you get in contact with Lieuwe and if his email address (platodva@csi.com) is bouncing messages back then I can only assume that he has moved on to new things without updating his web site.

Good luck with the refund and don't give up hope ... The majority of authors are still around and will be happy to sell you a registration.

[wanman]

Alternatively email regsoft.com and they will chase up the supplier for you or give you your money back.

[netBookBabe]

pask

Simon is right, there are rarely problems with shareware registrations - I've never had any difficulty.

As a matter of fact I registered MBM View with Lieuwe de Vries less than a month ago, and it came through in a couple of days, no problem. I'm not sure how long you have waited - the way that RegSoft works does require action from the shareware author, so if they are on holiday, for example, and don't have anyone to handle it on their behalf, then it can cause a delay.

Interestingly, the e-mail address that my reg code was received from is not the same as the one Simon quoted from their site. Consequently, I won't post it publicly, but if you send me an e-mail or PM via PDA Street I will send it to you.

I'm sure we can sort this out.

Julie

[WolfUK]

Was this ever resolved? A recent message in the EPOC Digest alluded to the same problem so if it was I can post the details there and if not I can post the details here if anyone know what happened to Lieuwe is found!

[netBookBabe]

Simon

This is my fault for forgetting to send out the promised e-mail address to Pask. I have done so now, so let's hope there has been some resolution, or will be very soon.

Julie

[pask]

This issue is still pending.

I have sent several e-mails to two different Lieuwe-addresses (thanks for mailing me the address, netBookBabe), but both addresses are bouncing messages back (mailboxes are full).

I have also sent three mails to Regsoft asking for their help. Their response on the first two was a resend of my order to the supplier, while there so far is no response on my last e-mail (sent last Friday).

Could anybody update me; What is the role and responsibility of Regsoft in a case like this?


I registered on Liuewe's 3 October. According to netBookBabe she registered on 27 September and received the confirmation code on 29 September, so obviously my timing could have been better .......

[wanman]

Hi Pask,

This is not comman problem within the shareware community and I have never had any such problem registering a piece of software (I use both MBMView & BusyView).

In your position, what I would do first, is check my credit card company or bank to ensure the money has actually been taken. It could be that when paying on RegSoft, something went wrong and the money has not been taken. If the money has been taken, did you receive a confirmation memo from RegSoft?

If you did, then at least you have a purchase number that can be tracked by them. Have you already completed an order query form? Link attached and Busy View product number is 4929

http://www.regsoft.com/how%20to%20contact%20us%20-order.shtml

This is very strange, Lieuwe normally responds to emails quite quickly. I have send him a couple about programming issues a couple over the last 6 months. I have always used his web email address without problem.

Anyway, hope you manage to get this sorted

Regards

Si

[netBookBabe]

Good advice from Si.

As far as I can see, RegSoft take the money, so should also take responsibility for making sure you get your product, and should most definitely refund you if you don't. However, maybe they too are having difficulty getting through to Lieuwe! Personally I would keep up the pressure on RegSoft to escalate this.

I have this morning tried an e-mail to Lieuwe on behalf of Pask, which has, as expected, bounced back with the "mailbox full" message.

I know a couple of people who are shareware authors and use this type of service for their registrations, although not actually RegSoft. I will ask some questions...

Julie

[felace53]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by pask
[B]I have for the first time downloaded shareware - but so far without any success!
....
[cut]

At the end of the story, did you receive the registration code ?
Let us Know

(I would like to purchase MBMview)

Giuseppe

[netBookBabe]

Originally posted by felace53
At the end of the story, did you receive the registration code ? Let us KnowStrangely enough, I was just about to ask this question too.

I have this morning sent another e-mail to Lieuwe, hoping to find something out.

Julie

[netBookBabe]

This morning's e-mail to Lieuwe has now bounced back with the "mailbox full" message - just when I was beginning to feel optimistic, too.

Hmmm, this is definitely cause for concern now.

Julie

[pask]

NO - I have not received any reg code.

The latest development is that Regsoft in a mail five days ago gave Lieuwe 48 hours to solve this issue, or else they would have to refund me. Now I am just about to update Regsoft - so hopefully I get my money back soon.

The sad thing is of course that I could need a product like BusyView, so if anybody know an alternative product I would be grateful.

[felace53]

[/B][/QUOTE]quote
The sad thing is of course that I could need a product like BusyView, so if anybody know an alternative product I would be grateful

You can try:
1- MonthMgr Version 3.0 (www.kabestin.com)
2 - RMRMonth (www.rmrsoft.com)
They are a little different from busy view ....

Giuseppe

[WolfUK]

I would recommend trying to email Kabestin before buying MonthMgr. I have a feeling that they disappeard some time ago. RMR are still active and will certaily be able to help you out.

[markdeppe]

Pask: Sorry to hear of your disappointing first experience with shareware. To encourage you not to give up, my experience with shareware psion authors has been exceptional, even to the extent of being sent reg codes before they have received moey due to hassles getting it to them (Thanks Ralph "backup" Sprenger and others)

[netBookBabe]

I'm still investigating the Lieuwe de Vries situation - I may have another method of contact.

Pask, can you give me an update on where you've got to with RegSoft, please?

Thanks
Julie

[netBookBabe]

Pask

I've been trying to e-mail you with a bit of info, but e-mails to the address you gave me previously are bouncing. Get in touch, please.

Julie

[pask]

According to an e-mail from Regsoft they have refunded my order. This is not yet confirmed by my credit card company, but I would be surprised if this was not true.

[Beakynet]

Originally posted by netBookBabe
I'm still investigating the Lieuwe de Vries situation - I may have another method of contact.

Pask, can you give me an update on where you've got to with RegSoft, please?

Thanks
Julie

Today there was an interesting post in the EPOC Digest:

Date: 2 Dec 2002 09:04:27 +0000
From: Jan R Gustafsson
Subject: MBMView

Hi all!
After trying for some weeks to register the image viewer sw MBMView (it stops to function after a 30 days trial period), it suddenly appeared to me that I maybe had seen something about problems doing this here on the digest. Maybe I missed somethin, but I did some surfing on the Internet and found a site that seems to indicate (my dutch is not that good) that the author of some nice Psion programs Lieuwe de Vries unfortunately died about a month ago. Can anybody verify this?
Here we may have a concrete example of a case where it probably will be impossible to use the MBMView sw in the future.
Regards,
Jan G
Stockholm, Sweden

If this is true then a lot of the thread can be explained.

I am a registered user of MBMView and in this situation is there anything that we can do to keep this piece of software alive?
:confused:

[wanman]

Sombre news indeed. If this can be confirmed and no other person holds the copyrights for this piece of software, could one of us registered users post our code on here so that anyone wanting the software can use it freely.

We need to be very careful though and make sure of our facts.

Just in case his website eventually does shut down, it could also be worth while placing copies of his programs here aswell.

Regards

Si

[WolfUK]

Sadly the news does look as if it is true. A tribute site can be found at http://www.granaet.nl/Lieuwe/index.html but my Dutch isn't up to much so I can't understand a lot of it.

[ohsix]

I saw a posting a couple of days ago on Epoc Digest that this Lieuwe de Vries fellow had recently died. I *think* a Dutch fellow on that list is trying to find out more - maybe contact de Vries' survivors to see if they can be of any help with the registration problems. I don't have any of his apps, so have no knowledge of the problem.

[wanman]

Incredibly sad news. Hopefully we will be able to let these great applications live on, although the issue of registrations could be a problem. I also doubt his website will remain up for ever so it may be wise to download the files you need before they are lost forever. Could copies of each of the apps be stored here or on a fellow Psion user website?

I have not come across a situation like this and am not aware of the legal implications regarding the registration and rights to software. I suppose, if no one else has a financial/legal interest in these titles then I can't see it causing any problems, posting registration codes on a website such as this but I think additional reseach needs to be done before this happens.

My condolences to the friends and family of Lieuwe who seems to have been a very popular man and a very talented EPOC programmer.

Regards
Si

[brianh]

This is sad news indeed. Many wishes for his family.

EPOC Digest has some interesting views on what to do with 'discontinued' EPOC software.

I noticed that his site states copyright through 2000. Does this apply to downloadable software?

[netBookBabe]

Originally posted by brianh
I noticed that his site states copyright through 2000. Does this apply to downloadable software? Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the copyright statement refers to the design of the website, not the actual material that is available from it. Therefore I don't think this has any bearing on the rights to Lieuwe's software.

Julie

[WolfUK]

Julie is right and the copyright for Lieuwe's spftware now passes to his estate. I doubt that any beneficiaries will want to take on his software (although you never know) so I think that those who missed out registering previously will have to look for replacement applications.

[markdeppe]

This is sad news. I have been following the discusiion on the digest about legaity etc. My personal view in this case, not intended to do with the leagal or moral questions being posed in the digest is that it would be appropriate for me to share with his family my appreciation of what he so generously gave in his life to the psion community and to still offer to pay for registration of his software with all monies going to his next of kin or anyone they designate as an exectuer. I am not a user of his software myself at present though in the future intended to investigate his picture veiwer