Lower costs means shareware authors can concentrate on writing great programs, while often charging users less. Shareware authors recognize that their programs have to be good. If they're not, consumers simply won't buy them. Unless a program is labeled as freeware, the author usually hopes to recover development costs by the sale of their program. It is the responsibility of the end user to be honest about their using a shareware program and registering it with the author.
Programming is a hobby to some and a profession to others.
Some shareware authors do this as a sole source of income, so please register the shareware you use. The barriers to entry in the software marketplace are great and require lots of capital investment to even get a title on a store shelf. Rather than have programs not see the light of day or get out to the users, shareware provides a means for this to occur. There are many shareware products which are of a quality which far exceeds some of the commercial titles in the software market. For more information about shareware, visit the Association of Shareware Professionals web site .