Desktop Icon Toy v2.7 was offered ~month ago. I liked it for several reasons and kept it. Today, on system startup, a new notice appeared above the Taskbar saying, "Desktop Icon Toy, unregistered, 5 days left." I have not found a way to turn off this notice, except I assume, the obvious one.
However, in the "About DIT" it says, "Registered to: Giveawayoftheday," and shows the registration number.
Based on a number of side-comments that I've read on the daily GOTD download page about various softwares, this "Registered but Not Registered" status is not a new or even unusual occurance with GOTD downloads.
Are there remedies, in general, or specifically, for the "Registered but Not Registered" status? Or is this just "The Rest of The Story" with some/many/most/all GOTD downloads?
If a program is in fact a time-limited or feature -limited "trial", GOTD and the DEV should state that clearly, up front, in the pre-download come-on, hype, blurb.
If it's not limited or crippled in some manner, on-screen notices to the contrary are inappropriate, if not worse, depending on the motive behind the notice. (At least the notice I'm getting is in a normal font size and doesn't flash or have an alarm sound...yet. It is bright RED, however.)
The relationship between GOTD and developers is a formal contract. The relationship between developers and GOTD users is an informal contract.
But it's still a contract. Developers have the opportunity to improve their programs using, in some cases, anecdotal impressions, and in other cases, spot-on technical information provided by GOTD users. All of this information has REAL (albeit, potential) $$$$ value to developers. And for that information, the DEVS, at the very least, are obliged to disclose, clearly and completely, what the GOTD user is getting. Anything less amounts to at least "bait-and-switch", and perhaps, outright deception.
Admittedly, the information that developers get from GOTD users essentially ends after 24 hours. Currently, there is no practical incentive for developers to extend their offerings beyond that point. Maybe that's the underlying issue here.
But there should/could be an incentive.
The third relationship in this triad is between GOTD and GOTD users. GOTD could post a simple list of former GOTD offerings, indexed by DEV and/or title that GOTD users can access and modify with "usage/performance/glitches/hangs/BSD" information, such as..... the "permanent" registration expires in one month.
And there would be additional uses for such a "forum", for GOTD users and DEVS alike. The key is to have a quick and easily accessible, referenced index of the previously offered GOTD programs where GOTD users and DEVS can go to add or find information related to the performance of XYZ program.
In my vision, the list is alphabetical, indexed by first letter of title, I click on "D", the "D" list comes up, there are green and red flashing titles, or shades varying between green and red (brownish?) according to the mix of accumulative red versus green comments. I click on the red flashing title, "Desktop Icon Toy", the comments appear, mine says, "ARRGGH! the permanent registration expires in one month."
Unless, of course, such a list/index already exists around here somewhere, in which case, Where is it?
So, I'm suggesting a "performance index of previously offered programs" forum, and
I'm specifically asking about the Registered/Not Registered phenomenon.
Your response options:
a. yes, there are solutions to "Reg/not Reg" problems. They are x, y, z and are at url.
b. no, this is how it is with GOTD downloads.
c. DIT was free, stop griping.
