Andrew Cardozo Fluegelman was a publisher, photographer, programmer and attorney best known as a pioneer of what is now known as the sharewarebusiness model for software marketing. He was also the founding editor of both PC World and Macworld and the leader of the 1970s New Games movement, which advocated the development of noncompetitive games.
Early business career
Publisher
In 1981 Fluegelman was the owner and sole employee of The Headlands Press, a small book publisher in Tiburon, California. He had attended an early computer expo in San Francisco in the late 1970s, and after agreeing to publish and coauthor Writing in the Computer Age decided to purchase his first computer. In October Fluegelman received one of the first IBM PCs sold in San Francisco, and in two weeks began to write his own accounting program in IBM BASIC.
"Freeware"
In late 1982 Fluegelman developed PC-Talk, a very popular and successful communications program. He marketed it under a system he called "Freeware", which he characterized as "an experiment in economics more than altruism". Freeware was licensed under terms that encouraged users to make voluntary payments for the software, and it allowed users to copy and redistribute the software freely as long as the license terms and text were not altered. He collaborated with PC-File developer Jim Knopf to adopt similar names, and prices, for their initial shareware offerings; they also agreed to mention each other's products in their program's documentation.
Fluegelman edited PC World magazine from its introduction in 1982 until 1985, and Macworld magazine from its introduction in 1984 until 1985.
Disappearance
In 1985, Fluegelman, already suffering from colitis, was diagnosed with cancer. On the afternoon of July 6, 1985, he left his office in Tiburon, California. A week later, his abandoned car was found at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge near San Francisco. His family held a memorial service for Fluegelman, and he is presumed dead, though his body has never been found. Kevin Strehlo, then an InfoWorld columnist, submitted a memorial column which mentioned that "friends say a suicide note was found inside" his car. InfoWorld rejected this column, but an online news service published it.
Works
Books edited
The Headlands Press produced books and negotiated publishing contracts for them with major publishers. Many of the books were designed by Howard Jacobsen and produced by his company, Community Type and Design. This list is arranged by year of book publication:
