Crippleware: N. 1. Software That Has Some Important Functionality Deliberately Removed, So As To Entice Potential Users To Pay For A Working Version.

HomeFortune CookiesMiscellaneous Collections

:crippleware: n. 1. Software that has some important functionality
deliberately removed, so as to entice potential users to pay for a
working version. 2. [Cambridge] {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?
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary

Related: