Re. Using software your clients propose

Subject: Re. Using software your clients propose
From: Geoff Hart <geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 12:35:51 LCL

Timothy Schablin reported that he lost a potential contract
because he lacked a copy of software that the client
demanded, and asked for advice.

Tough call, Tim... a great customer would probably give you
time to get the software rather than giving up on you, but
then again, this one might have been in a real hurry. If
the contract would pay for the software plus most of my per
diem, I'd probably buy a legitimate copy, particularly if I
could get an advance on my fee from the client as I
delivered various components of the work. My first instinct
would be to stall: since any software that accepts keyboard
input suffices for writing (if not for subsequent editing
and layout), and since writing should precede layout and
editing, you could simply state that working in PageMaker
is no problem, then provide only hardcopy to the client
until you get your first cheque. Likely the requirement for
PageMaker is so that the client can take your files for
subsequent reuse on his/her own system, but this part of
the deliverable may occur only at the end of the contract.
Worth a try, anyway.

How to get the software before the deliverable is due? You
_can_ legitimately rent software (as opposed to pirating
it) or borrow it from a friend or colleague (when the
licence specifies "only one copy running at a given time"
rather than "only one user, ever"). I've never seen a
"freelance writer's software sharing cooperative", but it
seems reasonable that you could get together with a few
friends and build a software library: one of you gets
Frame, another gets PageMaker, another gets Quark, and each
of you lets the others work with the software when it's not
otherwise in use. (Again, check the licensing to see if
this works.) Your local chapter of STC probably has a
contractor's special interest group, and they'd be a good
source for discussing if this idea is feasible. If you can
get it to work, tell us how via the list or via the
freelancer's newsletter, "Independent Perspective". Contact
Susan Witter at SuznWitter -at- aol -dot- com for details.

Another option is to ask the client if you can borrow one
of their spare licenses for the software for the duration
of the contract; many licenses come in odd sizes, such as
50 copies, that don't match the customer's number of
employees. Some clients may even throw in a copy of the
software (confirm that this is legitimate and lets you
upgrade to the next version!) in lieu of money.

--Geoff Hart @8^{)}
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of our
reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.


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