Shareware and Freeware - March 2006

Submitted by Rick on March 8, 2006 - 12:46am.

We haven't covered this topic since 1999!

Shareware is software that you can "try before you buy". The developer usually provides the program for free of charge with either some features disabled or a time limit on how long the product can be used. To unlock all the features or use the program past its expiration date, you must pay for a registration number. This type of marketing works quite well for developers who make good products.

Freeware is software that you can use for no cost at all. Developers providing this software usually create the program to either fill a niche or jus practice creating new programs.

Programs by small developers can be found for almost any purpose you need. Everything from organizing pictures to creating labels and from recording music to changing wallpaper. The only places I recommend hunting for and downloading freeware and shareware are:

Download.com
Tucows.com
Nonags.com
Palm Gear (for Palm Pilot users)

These sites do a good job of making sure that the software they provide is free of spy and adware.

Never download a program from the Internet from a site that seems fishy or from unsolicited email or pop-up ad. Use only reputable sites you recognize or the sites I provided earlier.

For dial-up Internet users, remember that for every 1 megabyte (1000 kilobytes) you download it will take about 5-7 minutes. Here is a calculator from Intel that will estimate download times for you.

The steps to search for and download shareware are:

  1. Type a term or phrase in the site's search box
  2. Sort through the findings using downloads and ratings as a guide.
  3. Click on the name of the product you are interested in downloading
  4. When read to try it out, click on the "Download" button or link
  5. Save the software to your desktop
  6. When the download finishes, close all your open windows then find and double-click on the program you downloaded to start the installation process.

Click here for a video describing the download and searching process.

Post-It Notes for your desktop