G
Gerald Abrahamson
I designed, developed, and implemented a productivity software program
in BASIC over 20 years ago (pre-dates Excel and Lotus 123). The
software was not written on an IBM PC-compatible computer, nor am I
aware of it ever being transferred to a PC-compatible system. I did
not write it in Visicalc because I preferred the control and
error-checking available in BASIC that Visicalc did not offer.
The program was very successful for the business, as they based their
purchasing volume on that program. Costs dropped dramatically and the
company survived while many competitors did not. However, that was 20+
years ago. I believe the company no longer exists, as they are no
longer listed in telephone directories or anywhere on the Internet.
I have searched on the Internet and have not found a comparable
program--although simple textbook versions of this software have been
available for some time (including one from Microsoft).
The program is *not* business- or industry-specific and does not
contain any proprietary information about any business. The only
unique item in the program is the mathematical formula I created to
generate the results. Mathematical formulae can not be patented, thus
I can not protect it that way. Copyright/trademark would generally
only apply to a specific work--which could be easily ripped off.
I have created a 3-sheet Excel97 spreadsheet that incorporates my
formula, and it behaves according to the same rules of the original
BASIC program. I have also added easily-changable variables that were
not readily available in the original BASIC program.
I am considering licensing this productivity software on a per-seat
basis, and would like to protect the mathematical formula I created in
order to maximize revenue from it.
I am guess-estimating a per-seat price of US $50, and perhaps 10k to
20k seats. Volume might go higher if there are significant
international sales, which could be easily managed. On-line sales will
be likely, as the program is quite small (largest version is 125k).
Based upon what I have read, Excel is not a very secure program.
I will be using sheet-protection on sheet 1 (management data) and
sheet 3 (results page--data taken from sheets 1 and 2). No protection
on sheet 2, as this is the variable data entered to make the
calculations.
Based on the above information, which software package would you
recommend as a way to relatively securely distribute and run the
software and keep it from being pirated? I am not required to use
Excel, it is simply what I have available--so I use it.
Regards, Jerry
in BASIC over 20 years ago (pre-dates Excel and Lotus 123). The
software was not written on an IBM PC-compatible computer, nor am I
aware of it ever being transferred to a PC-compatible system. I did
not write it in Visicalc because I preferred the control and
error-checking available in BASIC that Visicalc did not offer.
The program was very successful for the business, as they based their
purchasing volume on that program. Costs dropped dramatically and the
company survived while many competitors did not. However, that was 20+
years ago. I believe the company no longer exists, as they are no
longer listed in telephone directories or anywhere on the Internet.
I have searched on the Internet and have not found a comparable
program--although simple textbook versions of this software have been
available for some time (including one from Microsoft).
The program is *not* business- or industry-specific and does not
contain any proprietary information about any business. The only
unique item in the program is the mathematical formula I created to
generate the results. Mathematical formulae can not be patented, thus
I can not protect it that way. Copyright/trademark would generally
only apply to a specific work--which could be easily ripped off.
I have created a 3-sheet Excel97 spreadsheet that incorporates my
formula, and it behaves according to the same rules of the original
BASIC program. I have also added easily-changable variables that were
not readily available in the original BASIC program.
I am considering licensing this productivity software on a per-seat
basis, and would like to protect the mathematical formula I created in
order to maximize revenue from it.
I am guess-estimating a per-seat price of US $50, and perhaps 10k to
20k seats. Volume might go higher if there are significant
international sales, which could be easily managed. On-line sales will
be likely, as the program is quite small (largest version is 125k).
Based upon what I have read, Excel is not a very secure program.
I will be using sheet-protection on sheet 1 (management data) and
sheet 3 (results page--data taken from sheets 1 and 2). No protection
on sheet 2, as this is the variable data entered to make the
calculations.
Based on the above information, which software package would you
recommend as a way to relatively securely distribute and run the
software and keep it from being pirated? I am not required to use
Excel, it is simply what I have available--so I use it.
Regards, Jerry