Hi,

Welcome to February''s Software Marketing News. An HTML version can be viewed at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/author-resource-newsletter36.html . This month I've decided to write about the Google mess. I've also included links to an article written by my 10 year old son, that details the Evolution of Shareware. If you have suggestions for future topics please drop me an email.

STOP WHINING ABOUT GOOGLE!
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The bellyaching about Google rivals that of the Eastern Seaboard blackout. The following article will hopefully help webmasters move on. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/article23.html

THE EVOLUTION OF SHAREWARE
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My ten year old son recently completed an exhibition of mastery at school, that detailed the evolution of shareware. The complete report might be of interest to developers and those new to the industry. It can be found at: http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/article25.html

I'd like to personally take a moment to thank those helpful individuals whom my son interviewed for this piece:

Dan Veaner owner of EmmaSoft for 14 years until it closed in 2003. Visit online at http://www.abdkv.com

Mike Callahan is known for shareware promotion and is also known as Dr. FileFinder. Visit him at http://www.drff.com.

Dave Collins is owner of Shareware Promotions, he is responsible for promoting shareware applications. Visit online at http://www.sharewarepromotions.com.

Suda Pethe is owner of Centered Systems. Visit online at http://www.centered.com.

Tom Guthery, software developer. He is the owner of FLIX Products. Visit online at http://www.flixprod.com.

Tom Simondi is an industry pioneer and maintains file extension libraries. Visit online at http://www.cknow.com

Scott Swedorski was the founder of Tucows. Visit online at http://www.promaxum.com.

Steve Lee, is the owner of SWREG. Visit online at http://www.swreg.com.

Rosemary West, is active on the ESC board and is partially retired. Visit online at http://www.rosemarywest.com

Larry McJunkin is involved in WUGNET and involved with shareware promotion. Visit online at http://www.wugnet.com.

TINYURL
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This is a very cool free service! Go to http://www.tinyurl.com and enter a long complicated or affiliate url. TinyUrl will create a tiny URL that will not break in email postings and never expires. The url is shorter and easier to manage, the downside is that if something happens to the service you might be left with an invalid link. Overall it looks like a great free service!

ACTIVATESOFT.NET
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I discovered a security solution popular with Russian developers. ActivateSoft.net provides license enforcement using the product activation technique ensures that each license product is used in compliance with its licensing terms. When installed on a new PC, a product starts the Activation Wizard that (with the user's permission) queries a centralized license server via the Internet, asking for permission to run. The license server then either grants or denies permission according to the software licenses owned by the end-user. In case a permission is granted, the product receives a unique Activation Code that can be used to verify the product's activation status; a positive result will only be returned if the activation code is used on the very same PC it is obtained for. http://www.activatesoft.net

SOFTWARE SUBMISSIONS
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Has anyone else noticed the rapid increase in shareware sites? I want to take a special moment to thank Shareware Promotions http://www.sharewarepromotions.com for relieving me of this burden! They update our software on the download sites religously. Thanks guys!

SIC
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Sponsorship opportunities exist for the Annual Shareware Industry Conference. If you are interested in supporting the conference and getting your name in front of developers and industry professionals! Details can be found at http://www.sic.org/sponsors.asp

PROMAXUM
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Scott Swedorski, founder of Tucows has a new venture Promaxum he is working with developers, assisting with quality control. Scott's background in software reviews, assists him with determining what applications qualify for the Promaxum seal of approval. Details at http://www.promaxum.com

FACUG
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The Florida Association of Computer User Groups is looking for sponsors for there up and coming Conference. If you are interested in sponsoring the event please contact Larry at ltyler1@tampabay.rr.com

IGDA AWARDS
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Nominate games for a Game Developers Choice Award. The Choice Awards are the only by-developer for-developer awards in the industry - only those involved in the development and design of games are eligible to submit nominations. Details can be found at: http://www.igda.org/awards/nominations.htm

SMR BLOG
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If you enjoy this monthly newsletter consider visiting our daily blog at: http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html for daily tips and information relevant to software developers!

Thank you for your continued interest in Software Marketing Resource
Sharon Housley
Software Marketing Resource - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com
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