After you've finished reading what Dirk and Chris have to say, join in the debate for yourself by clicking on the link to the Hypernews forum where you can post your own ideas and respond to others. Some software can get by with help menus and readme files, but the more complicated the program, the more necessary it becomes to have a printed document that an inexperienced user can refer to while he or she tries to learn the application. The software industry is changing quite dramatically these days, and electronic delivery will soon become the norm. Development costs are high, but distribution costs are too. For smaller companies to survive, electronic distribution is a must.
Electronic distribution is one weapon that gives a small company an advantage.
This obviously also benefits the customer. They get products at lower prices, and they get them faster and more conveniently. Of course, the limitation is the bandwidth available to the customer. Very few people would want to try to download a 170 meg office suite with a 28.8 connection. But that is a subject for another one of our legendary debates.