Cheap and Fast Software

Cheap and Fast Software: Visit any computer store today and you will find what looks like miles and software sold. Of course buying is interesting, there are some problems with buying software from the shelf. On the shelf, software - otherwise known as "commercial software" - can be expensive, and not compatible, and outdated when compared to what is available online. Fortunately, there are alternatives to commercial software and although that is not new, this is one of the most untapped opportunities in the computer industry.

Cheap and Fast Software

We are talking about shareware - software that you can try before buying.

Shareware has a long history and is rather popular in times when the BBS (bulletin board system) ruled the online industry. It's not everywhere, but competition with commercial software is very tight - so fierce that it tends to fall behind new computer users. This is very unfortunate because shareware has many advantages over commercial software.

One of the advantages is cost. Overall, shareware is generally cheaper than commercial software. But don't misinterpret costs. With shareware, cheap is not the same as low quality and there are many examples that prove shareware often outperforms commercial software quality many times. How much savings are we talking about? You can buy quality word processors, spreadsheets, database programs or system utilities anywhere from just $ 15 to under a hundred. This is almost unheard of in stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, or Egghead, but the shareware program offered in this price range rivals even the Microsoft Office suite.

Another advantage that shareware has over commercial software is its compatibility. We do not say that shareware is compatible with all operating systems. What we say is because we can try shareware before paying for it, we can determine whether the software is fully compatible with our system first. In other words, we can find out whether the software does what we want and if someone tries to do the same thing with commercial software, they will experience big disappointment.

Commercial software policies do not even allow returns, let alone "borrow" them to try it.

The last advantage shareware has compared to commercial software (but certainly not small) is its application. Polar and simple, shareware is the best bet when you want to stay on top of the latest releases from certain programs. Of course, computer stores do their best to keep their inventory up to date, but when you can download version 5.6042 from a shareware program instead of buying a commercial version 3.0 from a local computer store, there is no comparison.

Which raises our next point. Where do people get shareware? Shareware is all over the Internet and it's very difficult not to hit it. The most popular places to find shareware are in thousands of download libraries, but companies (and even independent programmers behind shareware) are increasingly offering shareware from their own websites. Simple Google or Yahoo searches for certain types of programs will produce all kinds of results that lead you to items that you can try before you buy.

Keep in mind that shareware is not commercial software, you may not experience a complete program like you do if you buy software outside the box. Shareware may or may not be limited - meaning some functions may not be available to you until the program is paid. This limitation is often small and does not interfere with the operation of the full version. They really only applied as a way to request payment. Remember that shareware is not freeware. You should not try using shareware as commercial software without paying for it.

About the only thing that is similar between shareware and commercial software is the way in which they can be purchased. With a credit card, you can become the new owner of your own software in minutes.