These articles, and many more like them, are available to our members in our monthly newsletter, ASPects.

The history of the ASP is also the history of how all software is now sold. Our members invented the free trial, and that’s how nearly every online and subscription product is now sold. And we’ve spoken up about related issues over the years, as you can read here.

• ASP Hall of Fame
  The ASP Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who go above and beyond the normal levels of volunteerism to contribute to the organization. Through their actions, significant changes occurred, making the ASP what it is today.
  • ASP Hall of Fame Inductees, 2000
    In 2000, the ASP inducted its first group of members into the ASP Hall of Fame, including Phil Katz, Jim Knopf, Bob Ostrander, Paul Meyer, and Bob Wallace.

  • ASP Hall of Fame Inductees, 2001
    The 2001 inductees to the ASP Hall of Fame are Barry Simon, Nelson Ford, and Tom Simondi.

  • ASP Hall of Fame Inductees, 2002-2003
    The inductees for 2002 to the ASP Hall of Fame are Marshall Magee and Gary Elfring. The 2003 inductees are Rosemary West and Tom Guthery IV.

  • ASP Hall of Fame Inductees, 2004-2005
    The 2004 inductees to the ASP Hall of Fame are Rich Holler and Dan Veaner. The 2005 inductees are Jerry Stern, Chris Thornton, and Steve Pavlina.

  • ASP Hall of Fame Inductees, 2006-2008
    The 2008 inductees to the ASP Hall of Fame are Jessica Dewell and Harold Holmes. The 2006 inductees are Kent Briggs and Rob Rosenberger.

• The Origin of Shareware
  By Jim Knopf
  It's true. I started the Shareware revolution in 1982. Be the first on your block to know the real story about the start of Shareware.
  Shareware was born simultaneously in two places. In Tiburon, California, it was born as the program PC-Talk, fathered by Andrew Fluegelman. In Bellevue, Washington, it sprang to life as PC-File, the brain child of Jim Knopf. This is my half of the story. I'm Jim Knopf, the father of Shareware. This is the story I used to call "How did I get into this mess?"

• The History of Shareware & PsL
  As seen through the eyes of Nelson Ford, founder of PsL.
  In 1982, a couple of programmers, Andrew Fluegleman and Jim Knopf (dba: Jim Button), had written a couple of major applications (a communication program and a database program, respectively) on their new IBM PCs. Not wanting to invest the time and money in trying to get these applications into stores, they decided to take advantage of the pirate distribution networks by allowing their programs to be copied, but putting a request in the program's on-disk documentation for the user to send money to the author to finance the ongoing development and support of the programs.

• Spyware: Consumer's Guide
  by Jerry Stern
  Editor’s Note: This article has been filed as a public comment and follow-up for the Federal Trade Commission’s April 19th, 2004 Spyware Workshop. The FTC has expressed an interest in additional information on the costs of spyware, and additional consumer education.
  

• Spyware, Adware, Malware, Thief
  by Jerry Stern
  Labels blur and change with time. It’s behavior that’s important, and not the common label for it. That makes legal approaches to stopping harmful actions difficult. If your definition of an act that could be made illegal is imprecise, the behavior continues, and law-abiding citizens are restricted from activities that are beneficial to consumers and the economy.