Do you prefer to use free softwares?
By getbiswa2000
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
India
June 16, 2010 1:35pm CST
Hello dear members,
Most of the softwares fall in two categories, freewares and sharewares. There are softwares that you have to use as a trial. They stop functioning after a limited amount of time. Then you have to buy it. There is another way to get the same service, use a freeware. They are available for free, free to download, free to use and also redistributable.
I personally use freewares and open source applications, and sometimes versions that are made free for home users.
Do you purchase softwares for your system? or, Do you prefer to use all that is free?
Thanks in advance for your response
God bless you
3 people like this
39 responses
@Neo333X (171)
• Romania
17 Jun 10
I love free software because even free software can be better than commercial software and they are not filled with a lot of crap that nobody use(adware).I try to find the best free software.For example if you never heard of it you can try SPlayer, best free video player, supports Hardware Acceleration too ( I used to use KMPlayer, but I'm waiting for a better version that works how it should on Windows 7.)But there are some software that you can't replace like TuneUp Utilities or others, depends on your preferences, maybe someday I'll find something to replace those too.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
Hi,
I generally don't use many utilities. I optimize things manually on my operating system. I have never heard of Splayer. Does it support all the popular videa formats? I mostly use avi, as it provides compression without any significant loss of picture quality. Thanks for the response.
@Neo333X (171)
• Romania
19 Jun 10
SPlayer it's my new favourite player.It's support .avi,.mkv, .mov and the other popular formats but with .wmv from my experience can't play it too good, but for the rest it's ok.It also having some nice features that made me use it like Hardware Acceleration using the video card( if you card it's not too old it will work); Video Levels (16-235 - 0-255), that makes black blacker and increase the contrast (very good for LCD's) and that's the main reason I switched from KMPlayer, with KMPlayer I play only .wmv files; another interesting feature is Image Smoothing (PS 3.0), that means it uses Pixel Shader 3.0 for better clarity, I haven't seen many programs using PS 3.0 most use PS 2.0, but I don't use that since I'm watching movies and TV Shows in 1080p or 720p and I don't need Image Smoothing.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
17 Jun 10
Er, you forgot to define what is a shareware. I thought for the longest time that it was the same as freeware. Anyway, of course i'd prefer to use the free ones, since if i could get it for free with the same quality, then why would i even pay right? Its better to save my money for other things.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
18 Jun 10
Oh ok, thank you for clearing that up, now i know, he wasnt clear when he was describing what is a shareware, like he didnt say 'shareware', he said 'trial version'. I downloaded lots of software that is like that, both games and applications. I never thought that they were also referred to as 'shareware', i thought they are called 'trial version' and i didnt know that both are the same lol. Thanks.
@knicnax (2233)
• Philippines
17 Jun 10
shareware was the first definition. You get to try the software first before buying it. there are 2 kinds of sharewares:
1. You can use the fully featured software, but only for a limited time. Usually 1 hour for games, 30-60 days for useful application tools
2. You can use the software indefinitely but with fewer features
@rkamurugy (279)
• Brazil
16 Jun 10
I use freewares or Open Sources, sometimes i need to purchase softwares, huge part of my softwares a free.
@rkamurugy (279)
• Brazil
17 Jun 10
Unfortunelly i did, hehe. I work with devolopment and there are some softwares that i think a lot better to use and they are not free, so i pay for them. But for my own use i never pay.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
17 Jun 10
Hello again,
I totally agree. In corporate environments you really need to use high quality product. The main reason is the bugs. Nobody would want those bugs to be a potential source of leakage of valuable information. Also bugs that crash an entire operating system are not extinct species yet. For personal use you can use freewares of course. Thanks for the response.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
17 Jun 10
Thats kinda cool. I have never purchased a single software in my life. lol 
@Susanayako1988 (350)
• China
19 Jun 10
Yes, in China most of us will use free softwares and we think since the quality of free softwares is almost the same as the paid one. Why not use free software?
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
Hi Susana,
I completely agree. Even some freewares excel their counterparts in usability and are customizable to a great degree. Thanks so much for your response.
God bless you
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
Isn't it the picture of Audrey Hepburn? The one you are using in your profile?
@vivekrumy (147)
• India
18 Jun 10
i prefer using freewares .. sharewares too some extent i do download and use it till the trial period and after that maybe there are tricks to use them again for their trial period.. by uninstalling and cleaning registry and then again installing and enjoying them..
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
Hi,
Some executables put DLL files hidden in your Systems folder. Every time you install them, it first looks for the file and read info from it. In such a case even cleaning up your registry doesn't help. You may of course run a 'search and destroy' operation and use it again. Thanks so much for your response.
God bless you
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
23 Jun 10
Thats cool dear, as long as you download it from authorized sources. I am sure your son takes good care of your PC. Thats what we, sons are good at. 
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
18 Jun 10
Everything on my computer is Freeware. I use Kubuntu as my operating system, Open Office instead of Microsoft products and use Gimp as a photo editor instead of Photoshop or something else expensive. I also have some free video editing software but I cannot get it to work properly unfortunately.
There are some downsides to using all of this freeware. Some things just do not work as well as the Microsoft equivalents used to when I had Windows as my operating system. My printing from the internet does not work as well and viewing videos online does not work sometimes too. No one can give me the answers to why these do not work, not even my friend who has been using Kubuntu for years. 
I have Windows Vista here on disk which I could install at any time, but then may I have to worry about the old issues that I used to get when I had Windows before. I may have the same problems with freezing browser and have the virus worries that I just do not get now. For me there seems to be no perfect solution, I just have to weigh up which things annoy me more.
I have Windows Vista here on disk which I could install at any time, but then may I have to worry about the old issues that I used to get when I had Windows before. I may have the same problems with freezing browser and have the virus worries that I just do not get now. For me there seems to be no perfect solution, I just have to weigh up which things annoy me more. @RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
19 Jun 10
Yeah, I understand that programs and software are mainly designed for Windows, but what I cannot understand is why I can view videos online one day perfectly and then the next day I cannot view videos at all. They just freeze or play the video with no sound. I have tried a few things that were suggested to me but nothing worked. The videos work fine about 70% of the time.
I also forgot to mention that my website for my business is totally made from open source software as well. 
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
The answer to your question is that every software is manufactured to be best optimized in a single operating system, that is the operating system on which it has been developed. Now each operating system is in some way different from the other. For example the entire programming model for Windows and Unix differs greatly. Though some system calls are equivalent, but they are never the same. So one who has a thorough knowledge of the details of Windows API may or may not work well in a Linux environment. This is why an application built in a particular environment may not work in other environments, though they promised to do so. There may be other versions available which may be compatible to some other operating system. But all these different versions never work with equal efficiency.
@LadyDD (515)
• Romania
18 Jun 10
I also prefer free software and open source application. The reason is simple, they cost nothing. But it depends on your needs and possibilities. I can manage with free software versions. Those who have money to spend and need some sophisticated software must buy them. I'm not in this category.
@andryan7legends (1297)
• Indonesia
19 Jun 10
No I don't purchase softwares for my computer. I just got it from my friend and I used it. I prefer free softwares because it's free. But, not all freewares are good. Many of them contains virus. So, I must be careful to choose a good freewares! Happy Mylotting!
So, I must be careful to choose a good freewares! Happy Mylotting!@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
Yeah, all freewares ain't good. Some of them, especially those that are downloaded from unknown sources may contain virus signatures. Thanks for the response.
God bless you
@nangisha (3496)
• Indonesia
23 Jun 10
Hi getbiswa2000!.
To be honest I like a free ware because i don't have to pay it.
Doesn't we all love free thing in our life.
Sometimes free software not as good as paid one like free anti virus like AVG or Avira if you wanna full protection you need to upgrade thats mean I have to pay at the end.
Free ware thing usually have limitation, what do you think?.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
23 Jun 10
Hi,
yes, they often have limitations. That is because they are not upgraded as much as the premium ones are. Still they are good for domestic purpose. Let the corporate people use the professional ones. We are happy with our free stuffs. Thanks so much for this response.
God bless you
Thanks so much for this response.
God bless you
@achilles2010 (3051)
• India
17 Jun 10
I tinker on my PC just for the sake of fun. I am trying to develop a new hobby, which I am not likely to use for any commercial purposes. Those who are using computer for commercial purposes they must use the legalized copy or pay for it if they need any additional features. I mostly use free version available for home users.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
18 Jun 10
lol
At least the air we breath is still free. Guess it is an open source freeware. You can easily download it in your lungs and that too for free. Ain't it amazing?
@lattebreak (62)
•
17 Jun 10
Like to use both. It's interesting to see which software (free or not) does the same job e.g avg virus and norton. Having free software saves so much more money!!! Always good to find freebies on the net. Wish everything in life was free!!!
@blackhillsgold (88)
• United States
17 Jun 10
ABSOLUTELY! I love freeware! love finding unknown treasures online or sometimes through W.O.M.!
I have never had any problems w/freeware and the price cannot be beat!!!!
GO FREEWARE!!!
@meemingNEW (2226)
• Philippines
17 Jun 10
The softwares in my system has been already pre-installed when I bought it so I need not to install any other software for my system anymore. As for other applications that I want to download such as when I download movies or music, I'd surely use freewares and I won't even bother downloading a trial software if it means I only have a limited time to use it. I guess we all prefer it for free.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
Well things may not be that way for long. If by any chance you have to reinstall your operating system then all those installed softwares will be gone. I suggest, you download a few softwares and then write it in a DVD for future use. Thanks
God bless you
@AjaySinghBaghel (5506)
• India
18 Jun 10
It depends, if you are using public unsecured network, online transaction is not safe. I do all online transactions from office network which is secured and do not do any transaction from hotel room or anywhere which says unsecured network. This is never recommended to access banking sites in unsecured network.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
I completely agree. No financial transaction should take place in unsecured network environment. Even doing personal stuffs may become disastrous sometimes. Thanks so much for your participation.
God bless you
@dreamsharmin (2281)
• China
17 Jun 10
Well i prefer to use free software. As much as i remember i didn't buy any software yet in my life. As i always find out free software for my laptop.
Thanks for your information. 
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
Hello Sharmin,
I haven't bought any software either. Once I attempted to buy a Text to Speech Engine, but then I got that for free. Though it didn't have all the features but it surely serves the purpose well and above all, I didn't have to pay a thing. Thanks so much for the participation.
God bless you
@iloveme01 (79)
• United States
17 Jun 10
You have to be careful when you use free software because some of them have a build in virus which could harm your computer. The best thing to do is read review about this particular software that you want to down load and if it is possitive reviews than go for it.
@lordvoldemort91 (2)
• Pakistan
17 Jun 10
well i am against those anti virus software that says to buy a new license key after some time.if i bought a software then i will use it until i need that .why paying after every limited time.
@getbiswa2000 (5544)
• India
19 Jun 10
It feels like living in a rented house. Thanks so much lordvoldemort
