Cheap and Fast Software
Cheap and Fast Software
An Introduction to Shareware
Visit any computer store
today and you'll find what seems like miles and miles of software on sale.
Certainly enticing buys, there are a few problems with buying software off the
shelves. On the shelf, software - otherwise known as "commercial
software" - can be expensive, and incompatible, and outdated when compared
to what's available online. Fortunately, there's an alternative to commercial
software and although it isn't new, it's one of the most under-exploited
opportunities in the computer industry.
We're talking about shareware - software that you can try before buying.
Shareware has a long
history and was rather popular in the days where BBS (bulletin board systems)
reigned the online industry. It hasn't gone anywhere, but its competition with
commercial software is fierce - so fierce that it tends to fall on the back
burner among new computer users. This is unfortunate because shareware has so
many advantages over commercial software.
One of those advantages is
its cost. On the whole, shareware is generally cheaper than commercial
software. But don't misinterpret the cost. With shareware, cheap does not equal
low-quality and there are plenty of examples that prove shareware often
outperforms the quality of commercial software time and time again. How much
savings are we talking about? You could purchase a quality word processor,
spreadsheet, database program, or system utility anywhere from a mere $15 to
under a hundred. This is almost unheard of in stores like Best Buy, Circuit
City, or Egghead, yet the shareware programs offered within this price range
rival even Microsoft's Office suite.
Another advantage that
shareware has over commercial software is its compatibility. We're not saying that
shareware is compatible with all operating systems. What we're saying is that
since we can try shareware before paying for it, we can determine if the
software is completely compatible with our systems first. In other words, we
can discover whether the software performs the way we want them to and should
anyone try to do the same with commercial software, they'll be in for a big
disappointment.
Commercial software policy
doesn't even allow for returns, let alone "borrowing" them to try
them.
The last advantage that
shareware has over commercial software (but certainly not the least) is its
applicability. Plain and simple, shareware is the best bet when you want to
keep on top of the latest release of a particular program. Sure, computer
stores do their best to keep their inventory up to date, but when you can
download version 5.6042 of a shareware program as opposed to buying a
commercial 3.0 version from the local computer shop, there's just no
comparison.
Which brings up our next
point. Just where does one get shareware? Shareware is all over the Internet
and it's really hard not to bump into it. The most popular places to find
shareware is within thousands of download libraries, however, the companies (and
even independent programmers behind shareware) are increasingly offering
shareware from their own websites. A simple Google or Yahoo search for a
particular type of program will yield all sorts of results that point you
toward items that you can try before you buy.
Be aware, however, that
because shareware is not commercial software, you may not experience a full
program the way you would if you bought the software out of a box. Shareware
may or may not be limited - meaning that some functions may not be available to
you until the program is paid for. These limitations are often small and don't
interfere with the way its full version operations. They're really just
implemented as a way to prompt payment. Remember that shareware is not
freeware. You shouldn't try to use shareware as commercial software without
paying for it.
About the only thing that's
similar between shareware and commercial software is the way in which they may
be bought. With a credit card, you can be the new owner of your own software
within minutes.
A Few Common Computer Errors
(And What They Mean)
Computer errors can pop up
when least expected, they can cause the entire system to suddenly shut down,
and they can inadvertently corrupt data to the point where it can't be
deciphered. Although they can't always be avoided, it's important to remember
that computer errors can be corrected. The key is to understand what computer
errors are, understand what they mean when they show up, and understand how to
minimize their occurrence in the first place.
Basically, computer errors
are the result of a number of things that may or may not have anything to do
with the way the computer is used. They "operate" whenever there's a
conflict among commands. Remember that computers essentially run off of a series
of commands and it's usually a smooth process. But when one command conflicts
with another command - or when one command asks for a process or information
that isn't available, the computer returns results that aren't useable. That's
an error.
A prime example of this
kind of error is when users attempt to use software that isn't applicable to
their system. Almost all software accompanies a list of system requirements
that dictates what a computer needs to have in order for the software to work
properly. To minimize errors of this sort, always verify that your computer has
the required components. A project management program that you're interested in
may require a specific operating system, like Windows XP for example. And
although this program may install just fine on a Windows 98 machine, it will
generate a multitude of errors once its started.
Insufficient memory will
cause errors as well. That's why software programs include minimum memory
requirements. A program that needs 14MB of memory will generate errors on a
computer that only has 4MB of memory if it runs at all. The same goes for disk
space, monitor color depth and resolution. In these situations, problems occur
the moment that a piece of software attempts to access the things (hardware,
memory, space, resolution, etc.) that it cannot find.
Because some programs share
common files, errors can also occur when these shared files are not up to date.
For instance, let's say that Program A is already installed on a computer and
it's working just fine. Then let's say that the user of that computer downloads
and installs Program B. Program B uses a file that Program A installed much
earlier, but when Program B is run, errors popup. Those errors are the result
of Program B attempting to use an outdated (shared) file that was installed by
Program A. In order to fix that problem, the user would have to download an
updated version of the shared file (which to say the least - is not an easy the thing to find or do).
Sometimes, errors occur
because a system doesn't have the required drivers or the drivers that are on
the system are the incorrect versions. Both errors in these cases can be
resolved by updating the computer on a regular basis. Microsoft provides a
section on its website that can automatically update a computer online and it
does this at no cost in an effort to reduce errors like this. Always try to
keep your computer updated so that should a program share a file, it will share
a file that has been updated on hundreds of thousands of computers, like yours.
This article doesn't even
begin to cover the entire gamut of computer errors - but additional information
regarding how to get help with a computer issue (including computer errors) can
be found in our article titled, "Computer Help" no matter what the problem
is.
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