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crippleware n.
1. [common] Software that has some important
functionality deliberately removed, so as to entice potential users
to pay for a working version. 2. [Cambridge] Variety of
guiltware that exhorts you to donate to some charity (compare
careware, nagware). 3. Hardware deliberately crippled,
which can be upgraded to a more expensive model by a trivial change
(e.g., cutting a jumper).
An excellent example of crippleware (sense 3) is Intel's 486SX
chip, which is a standard 486DX chip with the co-processor dyked
out (in some early versions it was present but disabled). To
upgrade, you buy a complete 486DX chip with working
co-processor (its identity thinly veiled by a different pinout) and
plug it into the board's expansion socket. It then disables the
SX, which becomes a fancy power sink. Don't you love Intel?
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