View source for PC-Talk

{{short description|Communications software program}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2009}}
{{Infobox Software | name = PC-Talk
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| caption = About dialog
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| operating_system = [[MS-DOS]]
| genre = Communications software
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'''PC-Talk''' is a communications software program. It was one of the first three widely popular [[software]] products sold via the [[marketing]] method that became known as [[shareware]]. It was written by [[Andrew Fluegelman]] in late 1982,<ref>"Shareware: An Alternative to the High Cost of Software", '''Damon Camille''', ''1987''</ref> and helped created shareware's sales and marketing methodology.<ref>"Electronic Bulletin Boards for Law Libraries", '''Bruce Cummings Miller''', ''1990''</ref>

==History==
In 1981 Fluegelman was a book publisher and author in the San Francisco Bay area who bought one of the first [[IBM PC]]s. He wanted to exchange book drafts with a coauthor but did not find satisfactory telecommunications software, so wrote PC-Talk in [[IBM BASIC]]. After friends advised him to sell it, Fluegelman decided to self-publish the software (without [[copy protection]], because he was so new to computer programming that he did not know how).<ref name="microtimes198505">{{Cite magazine |last=Erokan |first=Dennis |date=May 1985 |title=Andrew Fluegelman - PC-Talk and Beyond |url=https://archive.org/details/microtimes00donh/page/n17/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2025-03-12 |magazine=MicroTimes |pages=19-26}}</ref>

[[KQED (TV)|KQED]]'s [[pledge drive]]s inspired Fluegelman to try a novel distribution method.{{r|microtimes198505}} He distributed PC-Talk by sending a copy to anyone who sent him a formatted floppy disk. The application encouraged users who liked it to send him $25, but doing so was not obligatory. Fluegelman also encouraged users to make copies for friends, and provided a [[batch file]] to do so.{{r|magid198208}} Though PC-Talk is regarded as a progenitor of the shareware distribution model, it was labeled at the time both [[freeware]] and "user-supported software", and included elements of [[open-source software]] (but not [[free software]]).

By 1984 Fluegelman reported receiving "dozens of $35 checks" for PC-Talk every day.<ref name = "InfoWorld Jun 1984">{{cite magazine |last= Watt |first= Peggy |title= Software for a Donation |magazine= InfoWorld |volume= 6 |issue= 24 |page=36 |date= June 11, 1984 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wy4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 |issn= 0199-6649}}</ref> He described the response as "really overwhelming ... It was literally driving me out of business", forcing him to hire two employees. Fluegelman estimated that up to 50% of users sent him money, and that its being non-commercial caused users to offer suggestions and fixes for flaws, instead of negative reviews.{{r|microtimes198505}} PC-Talk III was sold for $35 instead of being distributed for free; The Headlands Press offered a $25 discount to those who had previously donated.<ref name="seger198301">{{Cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vy3cBZkjbZgC&pg=RA3-PA138 |title=From One Program To Another |last=Seger |first=Katie |date=January 1983 |work=PC Magazine |access-date=21 October 2013 |pages=138}}</ref> Its [[source code]] was available and many derivative works were created by its user community. The [[CompuServe]] IBM/PC [[Special Interest Group|SIG]] forum developed "PC-TALK III Version B, Level 850311". Both the user-modified version of the program and the CompuServe distribution point were officially sanctioned by Fluegelman and The Headlands Press, holders of the copyright for PC-TALK. Members of [[HAL-PC]] also produced custom versions that supported [[videotex]] and [[IBM 3101]] [[Terminal emulator|emulation]].<ref>{{cite book
  | title = The Complete Handbook of Personal Computer Communications
  | last = Glossbrenner
  | first = Alfred
  | publisher = St. Martin's Press
  | year = 1985
  | location = New York, NY
  | isbn = 0-312-15760-6
  | pages = 111–112, 497–498
}}</ref>

==Reception==
[[Larry Magid]] in ''[[PC Magazine]]'' said that PC-Talk "is elegantly written and performs beautifully. It is easy to use and has all the features I would expect from a communications program".<ref name="magid198208">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYnHD9WSWdAC&pg=PA143 | title=PC-Talk | work=PC Magazine | date=August 1982 | accessdate=21 October 2013 | author=Magid, Lawrence J. | pages=143}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Communication software]]
[[Category:Shareware]]
[[Category:Discontinued software]]