Editing Crippleware

{{Short description|Product with intentionally limited features in favor of a more expensive version}}
{{drm sidebar}}
'''Crippleware''' is computer [[software]] or hardware that has been intentionally designed to have some of its features disabled or not working to its full capability until payment of some kind is rendered.

In software, crippleware means that "vital features of the program such as printing or the ability to save files are disabled until the user purchases a [[registration key]]". While crippleware allows consumers to see the software before they buy, they are unable to test its complete functionality because of the disabled functions.

Hardware crippleware is "a hardware device that has not been designed to its full capability". The functionality of the hardware device is limited to encourage consumers to pay for a more expensive [[upgrade]]d version. Usually the hardware device considered to be crippleware can be upgraded to better or its full potential by way of a trivial change, such as removing a [[jumper wire]]. The manufacturer would most likely release the crippleware as a low-end or [[freemium|economy version]] of their product.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/crippleware.html|title=What is crippleware? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary|work=webopedia.com|date=30 November 2004|access-date=10 May 2007|archive-date=15 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615050733/http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/crippleware.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Computer software==
Deliberately limited programs are usually [[freeware]] versions of [[software|computer programs]] that lack the most advanced (or even crucial) features of the original [[computer program|program]]. Limited versions are made available in order to increase the popularity of the full program (by making it more desirable) without giving it away for free. Examples include a [[word processor]] that cannot save or print, and unwanted features, for example [[screencasting]] and [[video editing software]] programs applying a [[watermark]] (often a logo) onto the video screen. However, crippleware programs can also differentiate between tiers of paying software customers.

The term "crippleware" is sometimes used to describe [[software]] products whose functions have been limited (or "[[wikt:cripple|cripple]]d") with the sole purpose of encouraging or requiring the user to pay for those functions (either by paying a one-time fee or an ongoing subscription fee).<ref name="hackers_dict"/><ref>{{cite web | url= http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci862925,00.html | title= Crippleware — a definition from Whatis.com | access-date= 2007-05-10 | archive-date= 2007-07-13 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070713214918/http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci862925,00.html | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/crippleware.html| title=Crippleware — a word definition from Webopedia| date=30 November 2004| access-date=10 May 2007| archive-date=15 June 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615050733/http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/crippleware.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

The less derogatory term, from a [[shareware]] software producer's perspective, is ''feature-limited''. Feature-limited is merely one mechanism for marketing shareware as a damaged good; others are time-limited, usage-limited, capacity-limited, [[nagware]] and output-limited.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brice|first=Andy|title=What type of free trial should I offer for my software?|url=http://successfulsoftware.net/tag/feature-limited/|access-date=28 February 2012|archive-date=27 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227111333/http://successfulsoftware.net/tag/feature-limited/|url-status=live}}</ref> From the producer's standpoint, feature-limited allows customers to try software with no commitment instead of relying on questionable or possibly staged reviews. Try-before-you-buy applications are very prevalent for mobile devices, with the additional damaged good of ad-displays as well as all of the other forms of damaged-good applications.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Eddie|title=The Best Book On Marketing Your Android App|url=http://www.marketandroidapps.com/development-2/free-paid-app-versions/|access-date=28 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121012509/http://www.marketandroidapps.com/development-2/free-paid-app-versions/|archive-date=21 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

From an [[Open Source software]] providers perspective, there is the model of [[open core]] which includes a feature-limited version of the product and an open-core version. The feature-limited version can be used widely; this approach is used by products like [[MySQL]] and [[Eucalyptus (software)|Eucalyptus]].

==Computer hardware==
This [[product differentiation]] strategy has also been used in hardware products:
* The [[Intel]] [[486SX]] which was a [[486DX]] with the [[floating-point unit|FPU]] removed or in early versions present but disabled.<ref name="hackers_dict">{{cite web|url=http://home.att.net/~srschmitt/jargonfile/jargon_file-152.html |title=Crippleware — a definition from The New Hacker's Dictionary |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111094411/http://home.att.net/~srschmitt/jargonfile/jargon_file-152.html |archive-date=January 11, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Deneckere|first1=Raymond J.|last2=Preston McAfee|first2=R.|date=1996-06-01|title=Damaged Goods|journal=Journal of Economics & Management Strategy|volume=5|issue=2|pages=149–174|doi=10.1111/j.1430-9134.1996.00149.x|issn=1530-9134}}</ref>
* [[AMD]] disabled defective cores on their quad-core [[AMD Phenom|Phenom]] and [[Phenom II]] X4 processor dies to make cheaper triple-core Phenom and Phenom II X3 and dual-core X2 models without the expense of designing new chips. Quad-core dies with one or two faulty cores can be used as triple- or dual-core processors rather than being discarded, increasing yield.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/373185/amd-phenom-x3-triple-core-processors-are-crippled-quad-cores-in-disguise|title=AMD Phenom X3 Triple Core Processors Are Crippled Quad Cores in Disguise|author=matt buchanan|publisher=Gawker Media|work=Gizmodo|date=28 March 2008|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=16 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916102921/http://gizmodo.com/373185/amd-phenom-x3-triple-core-processors-are-crippled-quad-cores-in-disguise|url-status=live}}</ref> Some users have managed to "unlock" these crippled cores, when not faulty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guru3d.com/news/phenom-ii-x3--enable-the-4th-core/|title=Phenom II X3 - Enable and unlock the 4th core|author=Hilbert Hagedoorn|work=Guru3D.com|access-date=2010-06-14|archive-date=2010-06-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629123024/http://www.guru3d.com/news/phenom-ii-x3--enable-the-4th-core|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Casio]]'s [[fx-82]]ES scientific calculator uses the same [[Read-only memory|ROM]] as the fx-991ES (a model with enhanced functionality), and can be made to act as the latter by strategically cutting through the epoxy on the board, and tracing the exposed solder joints using a pencil. This is also the case with the fx-83ES and the fx-85ES.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=557455 | title=How to upgrade your fx-82es, fx-83es and fx-85es to a fx991es | access-date=2008-08-03 | archive-date=2008-06-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613131116/http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=557455 | url-status=live }}</ref> 
* [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] announcing it would charge $4.99 in order to enable [[802.11n|Wi-Fi]] on some devices in 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2007/01/6637/|title=Will Apple charge you to enable hardware you've already paid for?|date=2007-01-16|access-date=2017-06-14|archive-date=2017-03-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312163830/https://arstechnica.com/apple/2007/01/6637/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2007/01/15/apple-holds-802-11n-capabilities-hostage/|title=Apple holds 802.11n capabilities hostage|author=Paul Miller|publisher=AOL|work=Engadget|access-date=2017-08-26|archive-date=2018-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621012247/https://www.engadget.com/2007/01/15/apple-holds-802-11n-capabilities-hostage/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gigaom.com/2007/01/16/want_80211n_in_/|title=Want 802.11n in your Mac to work? For you: only $4.99|author=Kevin C. Tofel|work=gigaom.com|date=2007-01-16|access-date=2013-12-25|archive-date=2013-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225223843/http://gigaom.com/2007/01/16/want_80211n_in_/|url-status=live}}</ref> (fee later reduced to $1.99)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-apple-getting-ready-to-charge-for-802-11n-mac-enabling-software/|title=Is Apple getting ready to charge for 802.11n Mac enabling software?|work=ZDNet|access-date=2024-07-31}}</ref> and blaming it on [[Generally accepted accounting principles|GAAP]] compliance, even though their interpretation of the accounting rules as mandating a fee was contradicted by a former chief accountant of the [[Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]] and by a member of the [[Financial Accounting Standards Board]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB116925153861582055|title=Apple Gets a Bruise by Blaming A $1.99 Fee on Accounting Rules|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2017-03-13|archive-date=2018-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126161612/https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB116925153861582055|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Intel Upgrade Service]] (2010-2011), which allowed select types of processors to be upgraded via a software [[activation code]], has also been criticized in such terms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/facepalm-of-the-day-intel-charges-customers-50-to-unlock-cpu-features/|quote="this arbitrary software lock is odd in that Intel is offering to remove it for a fee. Basically it seems processors have become so powerful and so cheap, and the failure rates so low, that the only way that Intel can supply the low end demand is through artificially downgrading chips."|title=Facepalm of the Day: Intel charges customers $50 to unlock CPU features|website=[[ZDNet]]|access-date=2024-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://boingboing.net/2010/09/19/intel-drm-a-crippled.html|author=Cory Doctorow|author-link=Cory Doctorow|title=Intel + DRM: a crippled processor that you have to pay extra to unlock|date=18 September 2010|access-date=25 December 2013|archive-date=25 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825134435/http://boingboing.net/2010/09/19/intel-drm-a-crippled.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Apple secretly slowed down older iPhones, in a controversy dubbed "[[batterygate]]". They settled a consumer fraud lawsuit in 2020 for 113 million dollars.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Allyn |first=Bobby |date=2020-11-18 |title=Apple Agrees To Pay $113 Million To Settle 'Batterygate' Case Over iPhone Slowdowns |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/18/936268845/apple-agrees-to-pay-113-million-to-settle-batterygate-case-over-iphone-slowdowns |access-date=2022-11-08 |archive-date=2022-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108131011/https://www.npr.org/2020/11/18/936268845/apple-agrees-to-pay-113-million-to-settle-batterygate-case-over-iphone-slowdowns |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Automobiles==
[[Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]] limits the range on lower-end versions of the [[Tesla Model S|Model S]] in software, as well as disabling Autopilot functions if those functions weren't purchased.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crippleware: Upgrade fürs Auto |url=https://www.zeit.de/mobilitaet/2018-06/crippleware-assistenzsystem-autopilot-tesla-model-s/komplettansicht  |date=2018-06-13 |website=[[Die ZEIT]] Online |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234227/https://www.zeit.de/mobilitaet/2018-06/crippleware-assistenzsystem-autopilot-tesla-model-s/komplettansicht |archive-date=2018-06-13}}</ref>

Some high-end [[BMW]] cars in the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa have the option to pay a subscription fee for features such as heated seats, advanced cruise control, and automatic beam switching.  The components and functionality already exist within the vehicle, but BMW has a software block that prevents them from being used without paying.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/bmw-cars-microtransactions|title=Some BMW Car Features Can Only be Unlocked With Microtransactions|first=Ryan|last=Dinsdale|date=13 July 2022|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=16 July 2022|archive-date=16 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716065705/https://www.ign.com/articles/bmw-cars-microtransactions|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Digital rights management==
[[Digital rights management]] is another example of this product differentiation strategy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Privacy, Economics, and Price Discrimination on the Internet|url=https://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/privacy.economics.pdf|author=Andrew M. Odlyzko|author-link=Andrew M. Odlyzko|date=July 27, 2003|access-date=2010-02-15|archive-date=2010-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610231526/http://www.dtc.umn.edu/%7Eodlyzko/doc/privacy.economics.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Digital files are inherently capable of being copied perfectly in unlimited quantities; digital rights management aims to deter copyright infringement by using hardware or cryptographic techniques to limit copying or playback.

==See also==
* [[Defective by Design]]
* [[Dongle]]
* [[Walled garden (technology)]]
* [[Planned obsolescence]]
* [[Enshittification]]
* [[Shareware]]
* [[Regional lockout]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* "Antifeatures". [https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/antifeatures Blog entry], [https://wiki.mako.cc/Antifeatures wikified list], [https://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20100323-00 talk and video] by [[Free Software Foundation|FSF]]-Board member [[Benjamin Mako Hill]].
** [https://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=AF540AA5-1A64-6A71-CE7BA509E86DF897 Open source means freedom from 'anti-features'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320102026/https://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=AF540AA5-1A64-6A71-CE7BA509E86DF897 |date=2017-03-20 }}, Norwegian magazine "Computerworld" reports on Benjamin Mako Hill's talk. (2010-02-08)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090109161458/http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/z/200701/appletucker2.pdf "Court order denying motion to dismiss of Melanie Tucker v. Apple Computer Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division"] (2006-12-20)
** [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/business/yourmoney/14digi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Want an iPhone? Beware the iHandcuffs] New York Times editorial labeling iPhone OS as "crippleware". (2007-01-14)
* [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/20/stealth_plan_puts_copy_protection/ "Stealth plan puts copy protection into every hard drive"] The Register. (2000-12-20)
** [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/07/western_digital_drm_crippled_harddrive/ "Western Digital drive is DRM-crippled for your safety"] The Register. (2007-12-07)
** [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/12/western_digital_filesharing_panic/ "Western Digital's 'crippleware': Some lessons from history"] The Register. Follow-up to original article. (2007-12-12)

{{Goodtypes}}
{{Software distribution}}
{{Embedded systems}}

[[Category:Dysphemisms]]
[[Category:Product design]]