It's a rare developer who relies on patronage<article>
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The Apple world has a rich history of free software and shareware that shaped its early years. Even before the Internet, the generosity of developers, some of whom had full-time jobs in academia or even wrote the software for their institution and had permission to release it, let us stretch our wings as Mac users.</p><p>
While free software rarely had an obligation, shareware did: If you liked a product and wanted it to continue, donating a small amount to the creator would help justify her or his time in supporting and advancing it. In some cases, that led to
large sums that became the basis of entire companies. In others, developers decades later are still plying similar waters because of the ongoing appreciation of their software’s users.</p><p class="jumpTag"><a href="/article/2998829/mac-apps/its-a-rare-developer-who-relies-on-patronage.html#jump">To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here[/url]</p></section></article>
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It's a rare developer who relies on patronage
