JUST TODAY I was going to buy WinRar. I've used the software forever, for free, and I just thought... I appreciate this, they've never given me grief, and I'm going to pay them.
And I went on their page to subscribe for a lifetime membership, and they wanted 20 bucks, which I was okay with, but it does not include Major Updates! I guess I'll buy it and just click the do not check for updates button but that seemed kind of, I don't know.
I still think they're pretty cool for not hassling you more than they do.
Am I wrong that this bothered me?
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Correct me if im wrong, but I think I read/watched something a few years ago which basically explains why winrar has a free trial but never actually enforces it. It had something to do with copyright law details, and how making it a paid product extends the copyright protections on it so that corporations cant legally use the code for a longer time. Im not sure if I'm even remembering it correctly, because it was several years ago
So it's free to the masses specifically to fuck over corporations?
As far as I remember it was so that they couldn't use it to create their own paid version. I think the dev wanted it to be free, but found this loophole. If I find the video I'll edit this comment and link it
Edit: i was partially wrong above. Its not for the reason I thought it was, but rather as a business strategy. Individual users keep it relevant so theyre allowed to keep it for free, while businesses have to pay for the license to avoid being sued. Businesses are its main source of revenue. Here is a video explaining it. Its not the video I remember watching, but it seems to be correct.