Oscar Trelles

Would Macromedia give its software away?

On last week’s issue of eWeek, Jim Rapoza writes about “abandonware”, and indirectly invites Macromedia to give away old versions of its software.

From a marketing stand-point, would it be a good idea for a software company to distribute old versions of their software for free? I would think so. Such a move could create awareness-of and potential demand for current releases, not to mention a closer relation with prospective consumers.

This equally applicable for other industries, or at least is what the MIT believes. OpenCourseWare is an MIT’s initiative to freely share course materials with any Internet user. Although it is still a pilot, the list of courses is certainly impressive, not only for the number, but the quality of materials and expositors.

I’m still looking for examples of software companies showing that sharing their outdated applications can pay off. In the meantime, what do you think?