NWA-PCUG 02/2000 NewsLetter Article 18861 N. Hwy 112, Springdale, AR 72762-9303 The Association of Shareware Professionals - A Primer By Harold Holmes The Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) was formed in April 1987 to strengthen the future of try-before-you-buy software as an alternative to conventional retail software. Today, it's a vibrant international organization with almost 700 shareware authors, distributors, and marketers who can help shareware professionals create and run their businesses. The ASP's members create and market some of the finest software available today. ASP members' software spans the spectrum, from high-quality accounting and inventory programs for business, to award-winning utilities and games for all computer users. While some of our members' programs, such as WinZip and Paint Shop Pro, are international best-sellers, there are thousands of other excellent business tools, Internet applications, games, educational programs, graphics and multimedia programs that are top-shelf, and available at moderate prices. Shareware is a method of software distribution, and not a type of program. In fact, try-before-you-buy software is being discovered by traditional "shelfware" companies, and will soon dominate the marketplace. If you're looking for moderately priced, high-quality software, please visit the ASP's web site at http://www.asp-shareware.org/membersearch.asp. You can do a keyword search and, for most programs, you can purchase them securely online, directly from the author's web site. Or you can visit our members' web sites and download free trial version of their programs. We encourage you to try our software before you buy it. Do you have questions about specific shareware programs, or about shareware in general? The ASP maintains a public newsgroup on our news server. You're welcome to visit the newsgroup, and post your questions or comments. Hundreds of our members visit this newsgroup every month, and would be happy to try to answer your questions. Just point your web browser to news://news.asp-shareware.org/asp.Public_Discussion ASP members are always looking for beta testers. They need people who would be interested in trying their programs before they're ready for prime time. Beta testers get to see programs months before anybody else, get their ideas incorporated into the programs, and most end up with a free copy of the program for their efforts. If you'd like to become a beta tester, visit our public newsgroup, and post a message that mentions the types of programs that you're interested in. If you're a software developer, we hope you'll consider joining the ASP. We offer a wealth of information about how to start a software business and how to market shareware, as well as technical programming information. Our members-only newsgroup has more than 22,000 messages on threads about all areas of program development and marketing. ASP members are always eager to help other ASP members. We hope you'll visit the ASP web site, and try some of our members' fine software. - Harold Holmes, President The Association of Shareware Professionals president@asp-shareware.org