Crippleware is computersoftware or hardware that has been intentionally designed to have some of its features disabled or not working to its full capability.
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 aregistration 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 expensiveupgraded 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 ajumper wire. The manufacturer would most likely release the crippleware as a low-end oreconomy version of their product.[1]
Deliberately limited programs are usuallyfreeware versions ofcomputer programs that lack the most advanced (or even crucial) features of the originalprogram. 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 aword processor that cannot save or print, and unwanted features, for examplescreencasting andvideo editing software programs applying awatermark (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 describesoftware products whose functions have been limited (or "crippled") 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).[2][3][4]
The less derogatory term, from ashareware software producer's perspective, isfeature-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.[5] 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.[6]
From anOpen Source software providers perspective, there is the model ofopen 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 likeMySQL andEucalyptus.
TheIntel486SX which was a486DX with theFPU removed or in early versions present but disabled.[2][7]
AMD disabled defective cores on their quad-corePhenom andPhenom 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.[8] Some users have managed to "unlock" these crippled cores, when not faulty.[9]
Casio'sfx-82ES scientific calculator uses the sameROM 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.[10]
Apple announcing it would charge $4.99 in order to enableWi-Fi on some devices in 2007[11][12][13] (fee later reduced to $1.99)[14] and blaming it onGAAP compliance, even though their interpretation of the accounting rules as mandating a fee was contradicted by a former chief accountant of theSEC and by a member of theFinancial Accounting Standards Board.[15]
Apple secretly slowed down older iPhones, in a controversy dubbed "batterygate". They settled a consumer fraud lawsuit in 2020 for 113 million dollars.[18]
Tesla limits the range on lower-end versions of theModel S in software, as well as disabling Autopilot functions if those functions weren't purchased.[19]
Some high-endBMW 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.[20]
Digital rights management is another example of this product differentiation strategy.[21] 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.
^"Facepalm of the Day: Intel charges customers $50 to unlock CPU features".ZDNet. Retrieved2024-07-31.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.
