Premiere Software (August 1992)

Premiere Software (August 1992)

Public Domain software seemed to reach its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I'm talking about closed source, but no cost software. This included both completely free programs, donationware, and shareware programs that were free but limited unless you bought the full version. I'm not necessarily referring to open source stuff here. That was somewhat less common during that time period.

Anyway, in 1992 when this ad was published, the Internet was still a few years away from being widely available. Other online services were available like Compuserve and AOL but downloads could be expensive and there were a great many computer users who did not subscribe to such services. So how did one go about getting all this great "free" software? Why by buying disks with the software on it of course.

At that time (and today also though it is rarely needed), it was perfectly acceptable and legal in most cases to distribute such free software and charge money provided the amount being charged was only a nominal amount for the cost of the media, shipping and any other services and not for the software itself. It was quite common for authors and third party companies to sell such media. This ad from the August 1992 issue of Amiga News is for one such company. They charged anywhere from $2 to $4 per disk depending on how many disks you were buying and whether or not they were multi-disk sets, etc. They also charged a separate $3 shipping and handling fee. Presumably that was for your whole order regardless of the number of disks. I'm guessing blank 3.5" disks retailed for around $1 at that time so a few dollars per disk was probably pretty reasonable for duplication and labeling.

Public domain software had been available in this fashion probably nearly as long as the personal computer had been around. I remember public domain software being "sold" for the Commodore 64. However, it seemed like there was a massive increase in the availability of free software after the arrival of the Amiga. Public domain software also helped to keep the Amiga live years after Commodore had bit the dust. Anybody for a game of Star Trek "The Next Generation" Trivia Challenge Season I and II?