This is a continuation of a discussion that was going on over on Raymond’s blog, but since it got rather off-topic, I thought I’d continue it here :)
Over on that post, Leo Davidson said:
According to this http://news.softpedia.com/news/XP-Reigns-Supreme-in-2006-43442.shtml the vast majority of (85%) PCs run Windows XP. That's 85% of all PCs, too, not just Windows PCs.
Factor in the assumption that people still using 95/98 aren't going to be interested in many types of software (if they were they wouldn't be running 95/98 anymore) and the pain of writing, maintaining and testing code which has to contain wrappers or workarounds for so many missing APIs, not to mention separate Unicode and ANSI builds, and I seriously question the assertion that "good" code should work on all Win32 versions.
To which Norman Diamond (sorry, Norman doesn’t have a blog – that I know of – to link to) said:
Factor in the assumption that there are a lot of countries where middle class people can afford to buy used PCs that are powerful enough to run 98 but aren't powerful enough to run pirated copies of XP.
Now, my assertion is that even though the number of people running Windows 98 might be fairly large, you still don’t want to be trying to sell software to them (in general). Obviously, writing software for love or fun is different, but trying to sell software is something that is simply not going to work.
Someone who can only afford to buy second-hand, low-spec hardware and pirated copies of Windows is unlikely going to want to pay for your software as well. So if you’re in the business of selling software, then it makes sense to only try selling to people who could afford your software in the first place.
Secondly, and perhaps not quite as important, is my assertion that just because you can sell software overseas, does not necessarily mean you should. Now, this is coming from someone living in Australia, where the market for software is not as big as the U.S. (say), but even I would think twice before trying to sell my software overseas. If overseas sales are important to you, then these are issues you need to consider. They are also relevant if you already live in one of those countries where 99% of software is pirated. But I would say most software developers do not need to think about international markets. You can still make a handsome living selling your software locally.
That’s going to sound like a cop-out to anyone living in a different country to you and wanting to buy your software, but the simple fact of the matter is, when you’re the supplier, you can choose who your customers are. If you only choose people living in the same country as you, that’s entirely up to you.
So, my answer to the question in the title of this post is: probably not. Unless you want to.
How’s that for a diplomatic answer? :)