by Inmagic Gives Away DOS Products as Freeware,
Challenges Microsoft, Lotus to Follow Suit
Woburn, MA--Inmagic, Inc., developer of the Inmagic line of textbase
software, announced today that it is offering single-user versions of its
DOS products free of charge as it discontinues selling DOS software. The
company called on other software companies, including Microsoft
Corporation and Lotus Development Corporation, to issue their DOS products
as freeware.
"We're challenging the assumption that, because a given technology isn't
cutting-edge, it's no longer useful," says Inmagic president and CEO
Phillip L. Green. "The bottom line is, people who want and can afford
Windows functionality will use the Windows interface. So why not put the
DOS products out there as freeware for financially-strapped nonprofits and
organizations in developing countries, instead of locking products up in
the corporate archives and throwing away the key? We challenge other
companies such as Microsoft, Lotus and others with DOS products to rethink
their policies."
The well-received introduction of Inmagic's Windows products resulted
in a sharp decrease in DOS sales, according to Green, leading to the
decision to discontinue selling and supporting the DOS line and offer
it as freeware. Inmagic's Windows-based products, DB/TextWorksT for
networked or standalone applications and DB/Textr WebPublisher for
Web publishing and intranet applications, remain available for
purchase.
"Once you get past looking for the strings attached, the
DOS-as-freeware concept makes a lot of sense," says Jeffrey Tarter,
editor and publisher of Soft letter. "Instead of *izing sales
by making these products freely available to the low end of the
market, you're in fact doing the opposite by expanding the number of
people who are familiar with your product line," says Tarter.
For Inmagic client The Salvation Army, free DOS software will help
day-to-day operations run more smoothly until the transition to
Windows can be made, according to Major John Merritt of The Salvation
Army's Southern Historical Center, Atlanta, GA. "Naturally, our goal
is to be able to move to Windows," says Merritt. "But in the
meantime, the DOS freeware will certainly help here if staff members,
for example, can now accomplish tasks from their own desktop that
they once needed to ask someone else to do. Multiply that by a few
people, even by a few of our branches, and you've got a noticeable
benefit," says Merritt.
The Inmagic DOS products available as freeware include: one-user
INMAGIC Plus, one-user SearchMAGIC Plus (search-only version),
PowerPack utilities, Library Guide and Legal Guide. Inmagic's DOS line
is available for downloading under Products at the company's web
site, www.inmagic.com. Also planned at the site is an Inmagic DOS
Support forum.
About Inmagic
Founded in 1983, Inmagic develops software that implements textbase
technology for managing large amounts of information for Web, CD-ROM
and LAN environments and the desktop. Inmagic's software features
rapid and precise searching, unlimited field lengths, multiple field
values (Subject1, Subject2, etc.) and a sophisticated report
designer. Inmagic has clients in over 55 countries. Contact Inmagic
###
Inmagic and DB/Text are registered trademarks and DB/TextWorks is a
trademark of Inmagic, Inc. All other trademarks or tradenames are
property of their respective holders.
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617-938-6393 fax FTP: ftp://ftp.inmagic.com/pub/inmagic