I never paid for CD wave before, when did they start charging $15?
Paging /u/Brian Skalinder, we need a Shareware explanation in here, stat!
I'm in agreement with Mike B: AFAIK, CD-Wave has
always charged a license fee. They simply chose not to cripple the software if you didn't pay after a period of time.
I think historically people either have been ignorant of the license or willfully ignored it. As I understand it, if you've had the program > 31 days and haven't paid, you're not supposed to use it any longer without first registering. But, as already discussed, there's intentionally no enforcement mechanism.
Some people may think this pushes CD-Wave into the realm of donationware, but I don't think that's accurate -- donationware provides fully functional software, with a request for an optional donation. As I interpret the CD-Wave registration, it's not optional...but, again, there's no enforcement mechanism. Splitting hairs, perhaps, but I'm sure in a proper legal case the distinction could be important.
FWIW, registration details from the CD-Wave page with a few key excerpts:
http://www.milosoftware.com/cdwave/register.htmlWhat does registration buy me?
Actually, all you'll get is a clear conscience. I decided against putting effort into a copy-protection scheme that would be defeated anyway. I dislike software with disabled features too. I feel that people that don't pay for this version wouldn't pay anyway. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a basket full of envelopes to prove me right.
In short, there is no special registered version, registering it just removes the "Unregistered" notice from the title bar and gives you a slightly different 'about' box.