If you're constantly on the lookout for software bargains, the "public domain" could be for you - it is, perhaps, the last word in budget software.

HOW CHEAP IS cheap software? Well, it needn't come much cheaper than free, actually. If you haven't heard of Public Domain software you'll probably be thinking there's a rabbit off somewhere and wonder what the catch is. Basically, there's no catch but there are a few caveats.

OK, we've discussed the price, but in case the idea of Public Domain software is new to you, a few words of explanation are in order.

Public Domain software is just that, software which has been freely given to the public by the copyright holder, usually the programmer. He (or she) normally retains copyright and although you are free to use the program, copy it and give it to others, you are not permitted to sell it for commercial gain. Some software tells you that the on-screen programming credits must not be removed - credit where credit's due - and the code should not be tampered with. Other utilities, however, do encourage the user to amend them for their own use.

That seems fair enough and you've got to admit that it's jolly nice of these people to let us use their programs for nothing. But why write programs and then virtually give them away? Personally I suspect it's a combination of things. Firstly, many authors enjoy programming for the hell of it and having written a program, there's no point in letting it rot at the bottom of your disk box. Secondly, there's a human trait called vanity - it's a cheap way of promoting yourself. Finally, there's the possibility of financial reward somewhere down the line.

To this last end, some PD programmers ask you to send them a donation - sometimes on the condition you actually like the program. In return they may promise to supply you with, or notify you of, any updates to their software. For a nominal fee they may also be persuaded to part with the source code, should you wish to delve inside the program and, of course, if they are receiving money for their efforts, they may be encouraged to write more programs.

This arrangement has been termed "shareware". The software is generally distributed through PD sources, but as the recipients are not obliged to send in their cash, it's unlikely the authors make much cash from their efforts.

So if PD software is free, where can you pick it up? Well, from anyone who is willing to give you a copy. It would be useful, though, wouldn't it, if you could go to one person who had lots of PD disks and pick out the ones which particularly interested you?

Enterprising individuals and companies with large amounts of PD software have set themselves up as PD distributors and will copy disks for you for a nominal fee. Bearing in mind the fact that PD software is not supposed to be sold for commercial gain, their prices may range from £1 (you supply the disk and provide p&p) to £3.50 (disk supplied and p&p paid).

The first PD software I can recall was for the Commodore Pet (remember that?), and if you look through the pages of computer magazines now you'll find adverts for PD software for the Atari ST, the Amiga, PCs and Amstrad computers.

Soft Music

LET'S SEE WHAT'S available in the music line. There seems to be more music PD software for the Atari ST than for any other computer, and a company called Softville have a particularly interesting collection. Music Disk 5 contains a 32-track MIDI sequencer and two automatic patch generators, one for the DX7 and one for the CZ1000 (I kid you not). It can be yours for £3.00 (Softville will supply the disk and pay p&p) and yes, they work just fine.

To be fair, however, the sequencer is nowhere near the standard of any commercial program, even the cheaper sequencers such as EZ-Track and Super Conductor, so they present no threat to writers and distributors of those programs. Operating instructions are sparse, and this is one area in which PD software generally falls down very badly. There may be some wizzo programmers out there but hardly any of them think of writing instructions for their software.

The instructions for the 32-track sequencer, for example, say that the program generally works as you would expect it to. Well, it doesn't work the way I expected it to - but you can work most things out by trial and error.

The random voice generators, however, are well documented and easy to use, although you're unlikely to pull a rabbit from a hat. You can adjust the "weirdness" factor and you can save to a voice library, too.

Softville's Music Disk 2 contains a demo program of Intersect's Orchestrator which plays tunes through the ST and over MIDI. If you like what you hear you are invited to send $49.95 to Intersect (yes, an American company) for the complete program which will let you enter music yourself.

Music Disk 3 contains the Intersect Orchestrator program again (you'll sometimes find the same program on more than one PD disk), a program which converts Amiga Music Studio files to ST format and a couple of programs which play music over MIDI. There are also two CZ librarians which let you store voices on disk - this alone could save you a fortune in RAM packs.

This disk also contains 37 music files for Activision's Music Studio which can route music through MIDI. Music Disks 6 and 7 together contain 111 more Music Studio tunes.

Music Disk 4 contains a simple MIDI program which will record and play back a piece - that's all it does - written in FORTH. The source code is supplied if you fancy developing the program yourself.

Demo Disk 24 contains Christmas songs and pictures (better late than never) which will play back through MIDI. $15 will get you the program which lets you create them yourself.

I've concentrated on Softville because they seem to have the largest number of music and MIDI programs, but Star UK's Disk L contains a simple CZ Voice Librarian along with 128 sounds. Disk M contains the same program but without the banks of sound data. It also contains a miscellaneous selection of programs which use the internal sound chip.

Soft Sources

MANY PD PROGRAMS originate from Canada, some are British and others come from Germany. These are particularly interesting, especially if you can read German. At the time of writing, Softville had just received several new German disks although the music ones seem to be concerned only with the internal sound chip. They were also designed to run in hi-res but if you don't have a hi-res monitor you need Disk ACC 24. This contains a Mono converter program which makes your ST think it's running in hi-res mode. There are tradeoffs, of course, but then it is considerably cheaper than a hi-res monitor.

In the Public Domain you may come across a program which doesn't work. If you find a totally useless disk most PD distributors will replace it or give you credit, but you must be prepared to accept that some disks may contain one or two programs which may not work at all.

Some PD distributors check the contents of a disk before passing them on, while others will just ship out a disk and assume it's okay unless they receive a complaint.

What else is in the Public Domain? All sorts of things: wordprocessors, databases, languages, art programs and lots of demos of full-priced programs - try before you buy. Softville have demo disks of Hybrid Arts' EZ-Track and Eidersoft's Pro Sound Designer.

Lots of PD contributors seem to have a penchant for audio visual demos - slideshows, as they call them. There are even "naughties" - digitised pics of young ladies in various states of deshabille. I pass no comment.

There are many disks of digitised sound and graphics, including sampled extracts from Mike Oldfield's 'Foreign Affair' and Jean-Michel Jarre's 'Oxygene'. Many music demos also contain renditions of popular songs. These are obviously not out of copyright. It's only right to point out that the use of copyright music requires permission from the publisher or copyright holder, and possibly the payment of royalties. I have heard some "PDers" say that as long as these programs are free, no royalties are payable. This is definitely not the case.

Many of the programs in the public domain include the author's name - and sometimes their address if they're after money or feedback. This is normally a sign of genuine PD software. It should be noted that there are also PD programs produced by hackers and are invariably under a nom de plume.

If you want to test the water, then seek out PD distributors from the ads and send them an SAE for a list of available software. Distributors vary in the amount of detail they include on their lists. Some will detail all the major programs on each disk while others may simply show a couple of dozen disks of "digitised pics", for example, which is not very helpful.

Then you send off your money and wait for the disks. Most distributors aim for a quick turnaround.

Invariably, some of the programs will be rubbish but as you're getting them for nothing, you can hardly complain. What you are paying the distributor for is the copying service, not the contents of the disk. Some distributors, such as Softville, will try to help if you have any problems but it would be most unreasonable to expect them to offer any kind of back-up service.

There's more to handling PD distribution than meets the eye. Exclusivity is everything, and the more enthusiastic companies scour the globe looking for new programs. User groups abroad are also actively seeking "swaps", and as long as people keep writing software, there'll be people to organise and distribute it.

There's an absolute wealth of material out there in the public domain for any computer user. Look upon it as a treasure hunt. You'll find charms, trinkets and some junk but you may also stumble across a gem. If you do, please send me a copy. I'll send you a quid.

Public Domain Sources

Atari ST:

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Amiga:

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IBM PC:

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