A bug saved the company

So, letting people try it out it for two weeks prevented them from buying it? That doesn't reflect well on customer satisfaction.

I'm sure this is some MBA 101 stuff, but I'm slowly learning that all sales come from a sense of urgency.

A two-week long trial ends and you're not even on the computer? Oh well.

You're recording something longer than 15 minutes that you want completed _right now_ and the only way is to upgrade? Instant purchase.

That doesn't mean that urgency has to come from a place of in-authenticity. In this case, I think the trial time limit is fair. People still get real value (actually for even longer than just two weeks), but if you want the full-offering you have to pay for it. It's a decent balance.

Bingo. The best trials are those that allow the user to determine whether the product is capable of solving the user’s immediate problem without actually solving it unless the product is purchased.

It's a shame that HN doesn't appear to have a "save comment" feature beyond just upvoting, because this is a neat and succinct statement I'd like to remember.