© 1997 j-dom Media. Contact us!At the moment most software is still sold over the counter. That is in boxes with manuals and discs. Why? Well printed manuals are pretty handy, so is having a backup copy of the program. But its a hassle having to go to the shop, and what if the program is out of date?
Software on tap sounds great and it is. A pioneer is BuyDirect from c|net. You get the latest software, easily with a simple credit card charge, great if you have a credit card. Secondly you have to download the software which is also great if you have an ISDN or better connection, otherwise the phone bill probably doesn't justify the procedure. The loss of manuals is less sorely missed than it could have been as most companies have now learnt how to have good help systems.
Can this be taken a step further? Pay nothing for your first use of an office program or use the first three levels of a game and then you are automatically charged for further use. All sorts of ideas come to mind - such as automatic registration for support when you download instead of sending those dodgy little cards.
It sounds good, and is but it won't be as big as some hope until we sort out the digital money problem and bandwidth for Jo Average increases considerably. But when those problems are resolved (which we can expect soon) then over-the-counter salesmen better a find a new career!
