LOTS and LOTS of Free Software

You 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:

  • Public Domain - nobody owns it - it is really, totally free - keep it, copy it, do what you like
  • Freeware - some companies give away software at no charge.  They still own it, so you might not be allowed to copy it and give it away, and you probably are not allowed to sell it.  But you can use it for free
  • Shareware - software that you may copy and give to friends, but if you keep it and use it you must pay for a license. The owners want you to spread it around - that's the "share" part, but they still want to get paid.
  • Trials - you can download this, install it, and use it for a limited amount of time (typically 30 days).  After that it will probably stop working.
  • Demos - demonstration software is usually "crippled" (incomplete) - parts of it don't work.  For example, you can create a picture but cannot save it.  The company hopes you will try it, like it, and then buy it.

Updates / Drivers / Upgrades / Student Versions

Updates 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.
        ** Careful **  You can purchase the upgrade even if you don't
             own the old version, but you won't be able to install it!

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.