I’m not going to denigrate paid-for software. In fact I think there are some commercially available programs that are well worth the money.

However, I think it is unfortunate when unsuspecting users are given trial versions of software pre-installed on their computer and, when the trial runs out, don’t realize that there is an alternative to paying for an on-going subscription for the software they didn’t necessarily choose to have.

So, what are the alternatives? Open Source Software or Freeware.

These are both free in the sense that they won’t cost you any money. But there are subtle differences between them.

    Open Source Software
    Open Source Software is always free in the sense of “Free speech”.It’s also often free as in “No charge”.The first freedom, open access to the source code, is because the roots of OSS are in the academic world. Here the practice of sharing information is well established, that’s how scientific progress is made.The second freedom, cost, leads from the first. If the source code is available then the program is available. The program is the bit you would buy.

    www.opensource.org
    www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php

People sometimes make the mistake of thinking that because something is Open Source it must be free (no charge). That’s not the case, to quote the definition above “The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.”

    Freeware
    Freeware is computer software which is made available free of charge, although typically freeware is proprietary.Unlike “free software” (as defined by Richard Stallman), it is usually distributed without source code and often carries a restrictive license. For example, a license might allow the software to be freely copied, but not sold, or might forbid commercial, government or military use.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeware/

A quick word of warning about wikipedia, although it can be very useful at times, remember that it can be edited by anyone. This has led to a number of high-profile inaccuracies when people have posted ficitious information, usually as a joke. It is not to be relied on as a completely authoritative source!

Another type of software which you may be able to acquire without cost is Shareware.

    Shareware
    Shareware is software that is distributed free on a trial basis with the understanding that the user may need or want to pay for it later.Some software developers offer a shareware version of their program with a built-in expiration date (e.g. after 30 days, the user can no longer get access to the program).Other shareware (sometimes called liteware) is offered with certain capabilities disabled as an enticement to buy the complete version of the program.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareware