

Tell HN: I took your advice, quit my job, and am charging money for my software - ComputerGuru

Four months ago, there was a huge discussion here on HN about the merits of free, closed-source software and I, a creator of freeware, was in the clear minority: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2185340<p>Today, I have released an update to my most popular software (millions of users), and have started a commercial licensing program for non-personal use: http://neosmart.net/blog/2011/easybcd-2-1-and-some-big-changes/<p>Today I am unemployed - last week I resigned to work full-time on my startup and hopefully get things that I've been forever putting off done. I have given this a lot of thought and decided that I would like to give it a try.<p>Hopefully I will be able to generate enough money from existing commercial users to enable me to continue work on this and take EasyBCD and other software further. I already have three other programs I've written that only need polish and fit to be released under similar licensing terms.<p>In short, I've realized that giving stuff away for free just doesn't pay (surprise surprise!)
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abbasmehdi
Kudos! Feedback: Your site needs to be "professionalized". Looks far too
amatureish. Also, it has no proper flow.

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cschmidt
Also, it isn't clear landing on that page what EasyBCD does. I had to click
around a bit to find out. Make a good first impression, and tell us what it
is.

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ComputerGuru
Thanks, guys. That's all in store, and I'm working on it. At the moment, I've
only taken the first step in actually deciding to work on this full-time.

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cschmidt
I certainly meant it as constructive feedback. Congrats on quitting your job
to work on it full time. That's pretty exciting.

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abbasmehdi
Yes, that step alone makes you (the original poster) a hero. Our feedback is
the most constructive way we can cheer you on.

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ComputerGuru
Clickable links:

* <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2185340>

* [http://neosmart.net/blog/2011/easybcd-2-1-and-some-big-chang...](http://neosmart.net/blog/2011/easybcd-2-1-and-some-big-changes)

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skeeterbug
EasyBCD is great! I could not for the life of me get grub to dual boot with my
setup, so instead I used your tool and it worked out great using the Windows
bootloader. Good luck with your venture.

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rick888
How much do you have in savings?

I did this as well, but I had about 8 months to a year in savings.

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ComputerGuru
About a year's worth.

