"Free" software

- Everyone touts their software to be free.
- The rags (How to Geek, every other publisher...) fall right in line--'advertising' the software as free.
- Software companies have gotten very subversive about how they break you the news, at the very last minute, about how lucky you are to experience their software for, in the greater picture, milliseconds; or how the two features you can use or test now are nothing compared to the 98 features you can't.
- And it's one thing for software companies to offer their software for a price and another for them to allow you to rent their software--forcing you to adapt constantly to software changes some lacky, wanting to prove his/her genius, has decided might be useful or an improvement. (Oh yes, it's called a "subscription" to give it the patina that used to be associated with the New Yorker, Time Magazine, or the Wall Street Journal.
- And I'm expecting rent rates will be going up. Oh Wait! this has already happened, courtesy of Microsoft and it's Office line. (In fact, products have been eliminated, or offered as separate rentals in the suite...

Questions:
- Is there a way, are there ways, or are there precautionary measures you can apply, before wasting time going through the familiarization process, of knowing software advertised or reported as "free", isn't?
- And my latest pet peeve: What has happened to How to Geek? There are more ads--ads practically impossible to dismiss without implementing their download process (certainly on cell phones)) floating through this rag than wartime flotsam and jetsam (yes they're very different).

Free Software = A perpetual journey of trail and error.
Keep solid backups!

Free download and a thirty-day trial is reasonable. Why should companies offer software for nothing? But I won't fill in credit card details in case I forget to cancel.

kelper said:

I won't fill in credit card details in case I for get to cancel.

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I've forever wanted to try Office 365, just for giggles, but, I refuse to hand MS my Credit Card info!

Edwin said:

Free Software = A perpetual journey of trail and error.
Keep solid backups!

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In all honesty, can't tell the difference between free or paid software in this regard.

Correction, I've actually had worst experience with paid software - cause of the DRM they used - than same software with DRM cracked (so basically, people using the pirated version - for free - had a better experience than the paying customers).

Edwin said:

I've forever wanted to try Office 365, just for giggles, but, I refuse to hand MS my Credit Card info!

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t will allow you to install it and run it for short time (something like 7 to 10 days) without activating it.

jro11 said:

- Everyone touts their software to be free.

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No they don't.

hsehestedt said:

t will allow you to install it and run it for short time (something like 7 to 10 days) without activating it.

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While you don't have to activate it, you cannot get it installed without a valid payment method...even if you plan to cancel before the trial period ends, unfortunately.

Rollback_Jockey said:

No they don't.

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OK...definitely most...maybe in the mid 90%ile. Only ones I know that don't are those with a locked in user base (AutoCAD, for instance).

But the majority of the industry is more than willing to accept the misnomer that Free Software means it's only free to download and try--to the chagrin of people who spend great deals of time trying it, because they believe the English language should trump marketing hype.

Winrar...



A Guy

A Guy said:

A Guy

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Very funny. and who's the wonderful dog?

jro11 said:

OK...definitely most...maybe in the mid 90%ile. Only ones I know that don't are those with a locked in user base (AutoCAD, for instance).

But the majority of the industry is more than willing to accept the misnomer that Free Software means it's only free to download and try--to the chagrin of people who spend great deals of time trying it, because they believe the English language should trump marketing hype.

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Get a grip - it costs money to develop software.

The days of amateur developers giving freeware is long gone.

One word summarises all your whinging - TANSTAAFL.

Be wary of the "Free download" tag. Frequently denotes trial- or demo-ware, and often contains adware

And if the software is "free", really and truly, remember : you get what you pay for

Plenty of websites and forums with experienced users who recommend or otherwise provide warnings about "free" software. Research is your friend

And if in doubt, image your system before (test) installing

Just looking at my system, I have 29 genuinely free programs in active use (excluding web browsers). There are good ones still out there

As the old saying goes, when the software is "free" you are the commodity.

I have very little freeware on my main PC. What I regard as completely below the belt is when I pay for a license and the software starts opening the door to spyware and nagware and fearware. IOBIT is one such example. Even after you pay they will inundate your PC with ads, pop ups, and nagware. Software like this should be illegal.

Having more than one PC allows me to test various sorts of "freeware". Occasionally one can find a "keeper" in which case I often purchase a license. Sometimes that backfires: Once the company learns you're a paying customer they'll start yanking your chain. That's what REVO did to me. I should have stayed with the "freeware" version. Not all companies do this and that is also why I have such regard for MiniTool. I purchased the lifetime license and they don't harass me. The same with Kaspersky. Perhaps we should have a page where we can commend certain software companies that don't stoop to dirty, underhanded tactics when you use their software or purchase a license. Just a thought.

I often get some pretty good deals from Vovsoft, no nags, no ads, lifetime updates, etc..., catch is you have to install and activate it within the giveaway period, so, if you have to do a reinstall, you're sol!

There's no such thing as 'free'.

There's always a price to pay, only you don't know it because they won't tell you.

Also, Free to Download is not always Free to use forever.

.. aren't "free downloads" misconstrued by many as Free software ?
Somewhat presented to confuse the unaware ..

Ccleaner, Hasleo, &-zip, Everything and Libre Office are just a few examples of genuinely free software. Many basic AV programs are also free.