Java Glossary : free software
Last updated 2004-06-28 by Roedy
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Glossary : F words : free software.
- free software
- There are several types of free software.
-
Truly free software. Somebody wrote a program, and realised there was no
market for it, but that it could be useful to others, especially if source were
provided.
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Shareware. Somebody wrote a program and did not have the funds/energy/chutzpah
to promote it as a commercial product. Typically he writes a slightly annoying
version of the program for public distribution, and you get the version with the
annoyance removed if you register. This means he typically does not distribute
source.
-
Get them hooked software. The program is actually a lite version. You
will pay for it over and over for upgrades until you get something that actually
works. Most OCR software, with the exception of Xerox TextBridge fits in this
category.
-
Software bundled with hardware. When you buy a piece of hardware it comes
bundled with a ton of useless software that adds to the perceived value of the
product without actually doing so. Before the anti-trust people stopped them,
IBM used to bundle all its available software with their hardware.
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Software bundled with OSes. For example Microsoft bundles the cost of
Internet Explorer in with Windows. This forced the competition, Netscape to drop
its price to zero, in a strong attempt to eliminate the competition. Perhaps the
anti-trust people will see the parallel between hardware and OS bundling and
force OS vendors to unbundle applications.
