4 ms·
> WinRAR became infamous for offering a "30-day trial" that never actually expired. Instead of cutting off access or locking features, it simply asked users to
by einpoklum 1y ago
> WinRAR became infamous for offering a "30-day trial" that never actually expired. Instead of cutting off access or locking features, it simply asked users to consider purchasing it if they found it useful. It ran on goodwill
No, it did not. It ran on annoyance. If you wanted to avoid having to dismiss the "30-day trial" dialog on startup, you needed to pay. And some people paid. I'm not saying that it was immoral, it was just... annoying. Plus, for most (?) of WinRAR's existence, you could really do very well with alternatives such as the 7zip utility - www.7-zip.org , that was perfectly free-as-in-beer.
- squigz 1y agoIt's like, the most unobtrusive popup ever. Hit escape and it's gone.
- hulitu 1y ago> Hit escape and it's gone. People back then were really primitive. They never new of "remind me later" or "if you don't (install updates) buy this software you (will lose the ability to make legal claims) need to press ok". /s
- nasretdinov 1y agoI think the real infamy comes from the fact that it says that it's a 40-day trial, but in reality it doesn't have a time limit and it's not enforced in any way. Similarly, you can make e.g. wallpapers with a Buy button, but if you're willing to spend just a bit extra effort you can get them for free, even if it's not completely obvious initially