Developed by: Andrew Fluegelman
Launched: 1983
Innovation: It creates the Shareware license, then called "freeware" or "user-supported software".

PC-Talk was a popular communications software program written by Andrew Fluegelman in late 1983.

It was one of the first three widely popular software products sold through the marketing method that became known as shareware.
Fluegelman 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 wasn't mandatory. He also encouraged users to make copies for their friends.

This changed with PC-Talk III, which sold for $35 instead of being distributed for free, but offered a $25 discount to those who had previously donated.

PC Magazine said of PC-Talk that it "is elegantly written and works beautifully. It's easy to use and has all the features you'd expect from a communications program."

Its source code was available, and its community of users created many derivative works.