Article Reviews For Computer Class

Making Sense of Freeware, Open Source, and Shareware Article

The article goes to talk about things that are free over the internet. It talks about how they say things are free, but nothing is ever free. Either you have to pay cash, or you could get viruses. Free usually means inferior. In the upside-down world of software, free often means superior. If your nonprofit is on a tight technology budget, freeware and Open Source software can be the answer to getting some great applications without spending a cent. It is important to note that some free software may require a computer science degree to install, and a Web site or e-mail listserv may be the only place for you to get help. So go forth in the pursuit of the free with a little caution. While the idea has been around since the inception of computers, free software is becoming more and more widely available as the Internet increases in popularity. From compressing files to serving Web pages, you can now find free programs that will perform virtually any application with varying degrees of success.

Freeware vs Shareware vs Open Source Article #2

People always get freeware and shareware mixed up. And the word 'freeware' has been way overused and has no real meaning anymore. It can be downloaded, used, and copied without any restrictions. The difference, legally, between freeware and open source, is that yiou cannot get the source code from freeware. Organizationally, this makes a big difference: There is no community and no development infrastructure around "freeware" as there is around open source software. Thus, while you can use freeware "as is," there is no real way to improve upon it or obtain support for it.Thus, freeware is "free" as in those "Free Treadmill" classified advertisements. Shareware is a different concept. You can download and try shareware for free, but if you use it, you are supposed to pay for it. It is developed and released by someone who keeps full control of the intellectual property. The user does not have access to the source code and cannot modify it. There is also no collaboration or community around shareware.In the end, the only difference between shareware and commercial software is that you can download and try shareware for free. Like commercial software, you are utlimately dependent on the developer of shareware for enhancements and support.Thus, shareware is "free" as in "Free Sample" at restaurants or grocery stores.