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So what is "essential software"?

Essential software does NOT refer to the operating system. Your operating system (OS) and a browser are not just essential, they are required. Essential software are programs that are not required but once you start using them you can't imagine not having them.

One of my requirements for "essential" means it is free. There are three main categories of software:

Commercial (you pay for it before you use it)
Shareware (you try it before you buy it)
Freeware (use it as long you want to)

The old rule of thumb "there is no free lunch" doesn't always apply to software. Price has little to do with quality & value. Software is often priced by what the market will bear. This is why you see last year's $199.00 software packages in the bargain bin for $19.99. Everywhere you go on the Internet you will see sites listing thousands of software titles you can download for free. Most of these are indeed free to download but they are shareware and only allow you to use them for a limited time. Some will actually stop working after the trial period, some will nag you every time you use it {these are called nagware), and others have key features (like SAVE) disabled (these are called crippleware). The point of all of these methods is to bug you enough to
A) buy the product or
B) stop using it.

Freeware on the other hand is just that, free.
Why do people give away perfectly good programs? Sometimes a company has freeware that compliments their commercial products. The marketing strategy is if you find our freeware useful you will be more apt to buy our commercial products. Some freeware is the basic plain vanilla commercial product with out all the bells and whistles. Again if they can get you to use the free product you may decide you want the bells and whistles and will pay for them. Sometimes a company wants to sell to businesses so it gives the software away to people to use at home (personal use) knowing if you like it you will get the business to buy it for you to use at work. A lot of freeware is written by people for a specific task they have and they decide to give it away to the e-community. These individuals are the good Samaritans on the information highway. Be sure and thank'em if you use their software.

Somewhere between shareware and freeware lies

donationware (free to use but all donation gladly accepted )
adware (free to use but you have to see ads while you use it, kind of like broadcast TV)
postcardware (snail mail a postcard to the author if you use it)

So the question remains "how good is this freeware stuff?". Well keep in mind that the fastest growing operating system for the PC right now is Linux. This OS has been around for a while and not only started life as freeware, it continues to be freeware.

Sarcasm - just another free service I provide

WARNING:
Apple Computer owners tell me their machines are perfect. Therefore don't expect to see any software listed for Apple Computers because obviously you don't need any additional software.

©2000-2006 Qube5 Laboratories ¤ Jacksonville, Florida USA Page last updated 2005.10.16 ±

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