# PC-Talk > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/PC-Talk > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/PC-Talk.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-Talk > Source revision: 1280153478 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Communications software program This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "PC-Talk" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) PC-Talk Operating system MS-DOS Type Communications software **PC-Talk** is a communications software program. It was one of the first three widely popular [software](/source/Software) products sold via the [marketing](/source/Marketing) method that became known as [shareware](/source/Shareware). It was written by [Andrew Fluegelman](/source/Andrew_Fluegelman) in late 1982,[1] and helped created shareware's sales and marketing methodology.[2] ## History In 1981 Fluegelman was a book publisher and author in the San Francisco Bay area who bought one of the first [IBM PCs](/source/IBM_PC). He wanted to exchange book drafts with a coauthor but did not find satisfactory telecommunications software, so wrote PC-Talk in [IBM BASIC](/source/IBM_BASIC). After friends advised him to sell it, Fluegelman decided to self-publish the software (without [copy protection](/source/Copy_protection), because he was so new to computer programming that he did not know how).[3] [KQED](/source/KQED_(TV))'s [pledge drives](/source/Pledge_drive) inspired Fluegelman to try a novel distribution method.[3] He distributed PC-Talk by sending a copy to anyone who sent him a formatted floppy disk. The application encouraged users who liked it to send him $25, but doing so was not obligatory. Fluegelman also encouraged users to make copies for friends, and provided a [batch file](/source/Batch_file) to do so.[4] Though PC-Talk is regarded as a progenitor of the shareware distribution model, it was labeled at the time both [freeware](/source/Freeware) and "user-supported software", and included elements of [open-source software](/source/Open-source_software) (but not [free software](/source/Free_software)). By 1984 Fluegelman reported receiving "dozens of $35 checks" for PC-Talk every day.[5] He described the response as "really overwhelming ... It was literally driving me out of business", forcing him to hire two employees. Fluegelman estimated that up to 50% of users sent him money, and that its being non-commercial caused users to offer suggestions and fixes for flaws, instead of negative reviews.[3] PC-Talk III was sold for $35 instead of being distributed for free; The Headlands Press offered a $25 discount to those who had previously donated.[6] Its [source code](/source/Source_code) was available and many derivative works were created by its user community. The [CompuServe](/source/CompuServe) IBM/PC [SIG](/source/Special_Interest_Group) forum developed "PC-TALK III Version B, Level 850311". Both the user-modified version of the program and the CompuServe distribution point were officially sanctioned by Fluegelman and The Headlands Press, holders of the copyright for PC-TALK. Members of [HAL-PC](/source/HAL-PC) also produced custom versions that supported [videotex](/source/Videotex) and [IBM 3101](/source/IBM_3101) [emulation](/source/Terminal_emulator).[7] ## Reception [Larry Magid](/source/Larry_Magid) in *[PC Magazine](/source/PC_Magazine)* said that PC-Talk "is elegantly written and performs beautifully. It is easy to use and has all the features I would expect from a communications program".[4] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "Shareware: An Alternative to the High Cost of Software", **Damon Camille**, *1987* 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** "Electronic Bulletin Boards for Law Libraries", **Bruce Cummings Miller**, *1990* 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-microtimes198505_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-microtimes198505_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-microtimes198505_3-2) Erokan, Dennis (May 1985). ["Andrew Fluegelman - PC-Talk and Beyond"](https://archive.org/details/microtimes00donh/page/n17/mode/1up?view=theater). *MicroTimes*. pp. 19–26. Retrieved 2025-03-12. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-magid198208_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-magid198208_4-1) Magid, Lawrence J. (August 1982). ["PC-Talk"](https://books.google.com/books?id=WYnHD9WSWdAC&pg=PA143). *PC Magazine*. p. 143. Retrieved 21 October 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-InfoWorld_Jun_1984_5-0)** Watt, Peggy (June 11, 1984). ["Software for a Donation"](https://books.google.com/books?id=wy4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36). *InfoWorld*. Vol. 6, no. 24. p. 36. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0199-6649](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0199-6649). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-seger198301_6-0)** Seger, Katie (January 1983). ["From One Program To Another"](https://books.google.com/books?id=vy3cBZkjbZgC&pg=RA3-PA138). *PC Magazine*. p. 138. Retrieved 21 October 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Glossbrenner, Alfred (1985). *The Complete Handbook of Personal Computer Communications*. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. pp. 111–112, 497–498. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-312-15760-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-312-15760-6). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [PC-Talk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-Talk) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-Talk?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.