Trial software on trial

I'm sure that just like me you often need a bit of software to help you out with a particular task. Last week I wanted something that would help me find album cover art for my MP3 collection; it just makes flipping through music with iTunes a better experience.

A few minutes with Google and I found a likely candidate; after navigating to the parent site I was asked to register my details before downloading the utility. This annoys me! After all, I took the time to find the utility in the first place and registered an interest by wanting to download a trial version. If the software did what I wanted then I would have been more than happy to pay the license fee. If it didn't then no amount of email marketing would have changed my mind. The decision is made in the first few minutes and having to spend a couple of those minutes registering my details (or Mickey Mouse's if I'm feeling particularly mischievous) does not get the vendor off to a good start.

It's a little like walking into a Virgin Megastore and not being able to look around without first filling in an application form - great marketing...for HMV!

So site registration is not my favourite exercise but it registers a poor second to functionally restricted software. Why on Earth would anyone want to provide trial software that is not 100% complete in every way? First impressions count and if my first view of an application leaves me thinking that it could do more then it is highly unlikely that I'll pay good money for it. Knowing that additional features exist in the full version does not sway the argument.

It's a little like taking a new car out for the day on a test drive only to find that the performance has been limited or the air conditioning disabled. It doesn't create a good impression.

So please software vendors, wherever you are. Don't make us register with your site, don't restrict your trial downloads (except by time) and trust your development and design skills to win us over. I, for one, would be a happier shopper and a happy shopper spends more than a disgruntled one.

:-)