Method for providing a trail period on a program

[Roger Binns]

> I am however, not prepared to
> let them run it forever for free.  If it provides
> value to them, I believe they should purchase a
> license.  This may put me in the minority on
> a Python site, but that's the way I feel.

Keep a counter of how many times the program has been
run, and how long a time period it has been used for.
Start whining once they get past a reasonable trial
period.

I would store the counters in the registry or somewhere
similar.  The user could go in and edit them back down
to zero, but at that point they are trying to immorally
alter the software function to get around the period.
There is no real point trying to deal with people who
are absolutely determined to steal.  They will always
succeed.  People who have to make minor changes
to circumvent stuff know they are doing wrong.

You can also add in a weekly check for updates (with
the users permission).  That will remind people that
they get to pay for the software's continued improvement
(unless 1.0 happens to be perfect and user requirements
never change :-)

Roger