Another black eye for shareware


Dave Shea, author, creator of the CSS Zen Garden, and widely read blogger recently attempted to purchase Adobe Acrobat from Adobe’s online store. Like any of us, he expected the process to be simple and quick. Instead, it took TWO DAYS, multiple support calls, and multiple computers to be able to download and install the software. His entire experience is chronicled in his post ‘e-commerce Hall of Shame‘.

Its disappointing to see a company like Adobe force their way of doing things on their consumers. There are thousands of readers at this very site, many of whom are brand new to the shareware industry, who get the download and install part of this business correct on the very first try. Adobe, there is no need for things like download managers, they only serve to make things more complicated…and to alienate the very market that you’re trying to sell to.

via J-Walk

7 Responses to “Another black eye for shareware”

  1. Jeff Lewis Says:

    Phil Windley just had similar problems with Adobe:
    http://www.windley.com/2004/12/22.html#a1586

    It appears that their site (and code) could use a little work.

  2. Tony Edgecombe Says:

    I decided not to buy from them when I discovered the UK download was 40% more expensive than the US one. Where exactly do the extra costs come from for the UK?

    Adobe’s doesn’t seem to age very well, every version of Acrobat I have used has been worse than the previous one.

  3. Bill Curnow Says:

    How is this a black eye for Shareware? Shrinkware? Yes, but it’s certainly not shareware.

  4. Brian Says:

    The post starts with him saying that he prefers to not buy downloadable software and his experiences reinforce why this is the case. While the Adobe store may not be selling shareware, they are using a model that is similar enough to what shareware developers are doing that his post can be considered a negative for the shareware industry.

  5. Bill Curnow Says:

    This is more an indictment on Brick-and-Morter e-Commerce than it is of the shareware industry.

  6. Dave S. Says:

    I’ve had plenty of good experiences buying downloadable shareware. I rarely bat an eye going through Kagi etc. for a $40 app that I’ve heard good things about. And that’s part of the reason I felt compelled to write up my Adobe experience, because the little guys have nailed it where Adobe has not.

    To be fair though, I maintain I’d rather have physical media than rely on anyone’s license recovery methods. Those serial numbers are just too easy to lose.

  7. free norton antivirus Says:

    free norton antivirus
    Spyware doctor panda antivirus, human viruses free virus scan. Spyware free free antivirus, spybot search free virus scan. Free virus protection spybot download, free norton antivirus spyware doctor. Free spyware spyware stormer, free removal of…

Another black eye for shareware


Dave Shea, author, creator of the CSS Zen Garden, and widely read blogger recently attempted to purchase Adobe Acrobat from Adobe’s online store. Like any of us, he expected the process to be simple and quick. Instead, it took TWO DAYS, multiple support calls, and multiple computers to be able to download and install the software. His entire experience is chronicled in his post ‘e-commerce Hall of Shame‘.

Its disappointing to see a company like Adobe force their way of doing things on their consumers. There are thousands of readers at this very site, many of whom are brand new to the shareware industry, who get the download and install part of this business correct on the very first try. Adobe, there is no need for things like download managers, they only serve to make things more complicated…and to alienate the very market that you’re trying to sell to.

via J-Walk

7 Responses to “Another black eye for shareware”

  1. Jeff Lewis Says:

    Phil Windley just had similar problems with Adobe:
    http://www.windley.com/2004/12/22.html#a1586

    It appears that their site (and code) could use a little work.

  2. Tony Edgecombe Says:

    I decided not to buy from them when I discovered the UK download was 40% more expensive than the US one. Where exactly do the extra costs come from for the UK?

    Adobe’s doesn’t seem to age very well, every version of Acrobat I have used has been worse than the previous one.

  3. Bill Curnow Says:

    How is this a black eye for Shareware? Shrinkware? Yes, but it’s certainly not shareware.

  4. Brian Says:

    The post starts with him saying that he prefers to not buy downloadable software and his experiences reinforce why this is the case. While the Adobe store may not be selling shareware, they are using a model that is similar enough to what shareware developers are doing that his post can be considered a negative for the shareware industry.

  5. Bill Curnow Says:

    This is more an indictment on Brick-and-Morter e-Commerce than it is of the shareware industry.

  6. Dave S. Says:

    I’ve had plenty of good experiences buying downloadable shareware. I rarely bat an eye going through Kagi etc. for a $40 app that I’ve heard good things about. And that’s part of the reason I felt compelled to write up my Adobe experience, because the little guys have nailed it where Adobe has not.

    To be fair though, I maintain I’d rather have physical media than rely on anyone’s license recovery methods. Those serial numbers are just too easy to lose.

  7. free norton antivirus Says:

    free norton antivirus
    Spyware doctor panda antivirus, human viruses free virus scan. Spyware free free antivirus, spybot search free virus scan. Free virus protection spybot download, free norton antivirus spyware doctor. Free spyware spyware stormer, free removal of…

© 2004-2006 microISV.com