PalmGear De-emphasizes Freeware (Updated)

I think there is some misunderstanding as we DO allow BOTH Free and non free software at our site. The only difference that is being implemented is that free software is not going to be listed on the home page with New or Updated software. No software (free or otherwise) has been removed. Search results still show free software with the only difference being they are now listed at the end of the results pages. Additionally the Advanced Software Search which can be accessed via this link:

http://wwws.palmgear.com/software/asksoftware.cfm

or on the initial page of search results page after entering search criteria in the search criteria entry field at the upper left has the option that has always been there that allows locating Free software via the drop down choice list "Application or Document". Additionally I would like to point out that our only commercial competitor has not only not listed freeware for quite some time they do not list it whatsoever.

In any event we are open to suggestions and want to do what we can to make the site as useful as is possible while maximizing revenues for the software developers whose software is listed.

Regards,

Kenny West
PalmGear.com
http://www.palmgear.com
"The One Stop Source for your Palm Connected Organizer!"

If Palmgear is on the edge of dying it sure didn't help by being stupid. You nailed the last nail into your own coffin, Kenny.

I think you are missing the point. I used to go to Palmgear everyday, because it was the one place where I could go to find out information about every piece of software available for the Palm (free, or shareware). Occasionally, I would for to the freewarepalm or Handango sites just to see if Palmgear had missed anything. Now, I'll probably start going to Handango and/or Palmspot to see if they carry a complete list.

In the long run, this is going to drive people away, because the value of Palmgear was not specificly that they had freeware or shareware. The value was that they had everything easily accessiible. And now they don't.

What do you want to bet that when they see how much their site traffic goes down, they go back to the old method?

Michael

HTH...Boone

Handango doesn't even post new or updated products in a timely manner. There are times when I know when a product was updated on Handango, and it took hours for it to show up as so. And by that time, the product wasn't even listed on the front page anymore.

Let's keep in mind that not all the develoers voted to have freeware removed. I think it was to their advantage to have a lot of people coming to the gear site in search of "Whatever", and not just commercial/shareware products.

I hope BUDD does not code the same way he writes. ;)

It is not very comfortable to have the gift of being amused at one's own absurdity.
-Somerset Maugham-

The whole attraction of PalmGear was that everything was centralized in one place and you could easily keep up to date on the Palm software market.

This is the beginning of the end and it's time for developers to start their own grassroots distribution site. Palm old-timers remember the dozens of Palm software sites over the years that have come and gone and once upon a time, PalmGear was a newcomer too. The community will survive its passing, and it may well be time for a class-action law suit to recoup unpaid developer fees and hasten the end of PalmGear.

Just because you can crack a program doesn't mean that you should. There's something called ethics.

You don't like the cost of software? Don't buy it! Or, create something on your own to compete with the existing product at a lower cost. Cracking someone else's software and redistributing it - whether or not it's overpriced - is in direct violation of virtually all software licenses, and you deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.