LOTS and LOTS of Free SoftwareYou can download free software legally at www.download.com It clearly identifies files as freeware, shareware, or demo, and has good descriptions of what the software does. Other similar free software collections are available at: www.tucows.com www.click-now.net/downloads.htm www.snapfiles.com Is it really FREE? There are many different kinds of "free" software:
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Updates / Drivers / Upgrades / Student VersionsUpdates are extra pieces of software to fix or improve software that you already have. Microsoft issues updates for the Windows Operation System a couple times each month. You can download the updates free from http://update.microsoft.com . It's generally a good idea to download these because these patches repair small bugs and keep things running smoothly. Drivers are small programs needed to make new hardware work correctly - for example a digital camera, a scanner, or a graphics card. Many manufacturers improve these drivers and issue free updates occasionally, but they might not announce them. If you have some nice hardware, visit the company web-site every few months to check for updated drivers. Upgrades are new versions of software. You
can usually purchase an upgrade cheaply if you already own
an older version of the software, whereas purchasing the full
version is much more expensive. Student versions are cheap versions of professional applications, intended for students who don't have much money. Why would the companies sell it cheaper to students? You may get a cut-down version with fewer features, or you can't get free online help, or you cannot buy upgrades later. |