Shareware Heroes

What Hacker News says

1. kemitchellMay 2024
   The whole history of shareware was badly neglected along my path into the industry, as if all those people set sail sometime in the 1990s and were never heard from again. In fact they continued in parallel, and still show very obvious influence in many niches of software. I think that was just hard to see while I was at uni.

   I can strongly recommend Richard Moss' Shareware Heroes book for those interested in remedial reading, and not just for those devoted to games.

   If there are any computer history grad students lurking, an integrative history of early software distribution models and industry orgs is still a big, gaping hole in the lit, as far as I know.

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2. GreenJonSep 2023
   It’s a fantastic read, and with his sense of recall being so strong it provides a lot of detail you other might not get. He does say in the end he might have made it a bit more positive than some of the moments may have actually been, but I’ve not seen any of the other people from those times contradict what he’s said.

   I also found that Shareware Heroes by Richard Moss was a good, if more general, accompaniment.

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3. pamorosoOct 2022
   "Shareware Heroes: The renegades who redefined gaming at the dawn of the by internet" by Richard Moss.
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4. tombertJun 2026
   It's been on my list, but I haven't read it yet.

   I also stalked Scott Miller from Apogee Software to ask him how accurate Masters of Doom was, and he told me to checkout the book "Shareware Heroes", as he claims it's more accurate [1]. I still haven't read it but that's the next thing I plan on reading.

   [1] https://sharewareheroes.com/

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5. LorenDBAug 2023
   I just got done reading a book called "Shareware Heroes" that mentioned various shareware apps providing source code to users who registered. The free versions never had source provided; the source was advertised as a perk for paid users. It's different than what we expect today, but honestly not the worst business model out there.
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6. wizardfeetApr 2023
   Shareware Heroes author here. I'm hoping for an official release here downunder soon, but in the meantime there are import copies available through most online Aussie booksellers. And if you're in Melbourne then you can also buy directly from me.
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