I didn't buy anything from Atlas Games after downloading the free Ars Magica PDF, but I did buy four or five products from Columbia Games after they released HarnMaster 3 as a free PDF download for a short time a few years ago.
I think it's a good concept, but I think it works a lot better if...
There's a d20 Modern Wizards of the Coast sub-category over at DriveThruRPG, so it's probably just a matter of time before the entire catalog is available in PDF format.
It looks like WotC's free adventure path for D20 Modern has been cancelled.
Link to WotC's D20 Message Board
I doubt anyone is going to be surprised by the announcement, since it's been months since the first adventure was released and nothing materialized after that. Project Javelin renewed...
It's possible that the book was cancelled some time ago, but the distributors weren't notified until recently.
If WotC believes that a cancelled book announcement could hurt sales of their entire d20 product line then it would make sense for them to delay the announcement for as long as possible.
Is this definitely a one-time project or is it something you'd consider doing on a regular basis if the first project is completed? Is this a business experiment or is it something you're just doing for fun?
The original DarkMatter book was almost 300 pages. Some of that was Alternity specific crunch, but I expect the new book will include plenty of d20 crunch. If the new book is really only 160 pages it seems like a lot of material is going to be cut instead of reprinted.