“PMC Software Auction Update (Can Beggars Be Choosers?)”

Eighty three applications have been donated, so far, to the PMC Software Auction. That means I'm… well, about 83%… of the way to my goal of 100+ apps. The total retail value of all this software is currently $17,378.60, which is about 85% of my $20,000 goal.

Once the goals are reached, the auctions will start.

Lots of new faces in the auctions this year, but some of the "alumni" from two years ago haven't yet offered their wares. Many of the alumni I'm still hoping to hear from also happen to have higher prices attached to their apps... come on guys! Donating licenses to these auctions hardly costs you anything, so what's holding you back? :-)

Also, I've run into one little snag related to the auction. What should I do when someone offers an application which I wouldn't use even if I needed something like it? Nearly all of the donated apps have been great and I'm happy to include them, but go look on Version Tracker and you'll see that some apps garner ratings of just two stars. Or less. And a couple of those have been donated. Should I include them? Can this beggar afford to be a chooser?

Even scarier are the apps which scream, "MALWARE!" Scarier, but easier for me to deal with. I just politely decline the offer. The legitimate apps that happen to be universally disliked are a little more difficult. :-(

(I'm almost certain that I will include them, and just hope that more really great applications are donated to offset the poorly-written apps. Just as it doesn't cost the developers much to donate an app, it doesn't cost me much to include extra stuff on the auctioned discs.)