Shareware is one of the most common way of distributing programs, and offers benefits for both the creator and the end user. To put it simply, shareware allows you to “try before you buy”, giving you chance to see if the software fits your needs before making you pay out for it. There's no catch or small-print, you just get to test the program, and if you like it, you buy it. If you decide you don't want the program you can simply delete it, and in most cases there will be a specific “uninstall” process to help you do this.

Software authors like to release products as shareware as it offers many advantages to the small developers. A lot of these developers cannot afford to publish their software in stores, or are not well known enough to make much money. By releasing shareware they generate good publicity and attract many new users to test their program, many of whom will choose to purchase it. Shareware is such an attractive option that even some major companies such as Microsoft have decided to try making some of their software available as shareware.

Freeware

Freeware is exactly what it says – free. You don't have to pay anything, you get the full product for nothing. Freeware is normally distributed by people who don't believe in charging for software, or sometimes by developers who wish to generate a good reputation by giving away some of their products. Its important to realise that the author still retains copyright and owns the program, they are just choosing to let you use it for free.

Adware

Adware is just like freeware, except for the fact it normally contains some form of advertising. This can appear in a variety of different ways, sometimes you get pop-up ads, other times there will be a banner across the top of the program. The authors get paid for the the ad sales, and thus they don't have to charge users. This is normally a good compromise since many people do not mind having to watch advertisements in exchange for free software.

Time-Limited Demo

One of the problems with shareware is that there is no way for the author to make sure that his users pay for the product if they use it, they rely on users to be honourable. A time-limited demo solves this problem – it acts just like shareware except that after certain amount of time (often between 7 and 30 days) it will refuse to run. If you wish to continue using the program after this point you must contact the author and pay for the full version.

Feature-Limited Demo

A feature-limited demo is the alternative solution to the shareware problem. Instead of giving the user a certain amount of time to try the program the developer removes a few key features of the software. This means the product is still usable, and often still useful in some ways, but the full potential cannot be achieved unless the program is paid for. In this way the user can test the software and see if it would benefit them, whilst the author can still ensure that they are rightfully paid for their work.

Cardware

Sometimes software developers like to know when their products are being used, if only to know that they have helped somebody. For this reason some programs are distributed as “cardware” - meaning that the software is free as long as you send the author a postcard saying hello. The address to send the postcard to is often contained within the help section of the program.

Before you can use any software that you find on the internet you must transfer it onto your own computer. To do this is called “downloading”, and basically means that the data is copied from wherever it is stored to its new location on your computer. This is quite an easy process, but can be daunting if you've never done it before, so here is a simple step-by-step guide.

1.The first step is to actually find the item you wish to download. One you have done that, you should be given a download link of some kind, a bit of text saying “download here” or similar, you should click this link once.

2.Sometimes you will be asked if you want to “save”, or “run from current location”. If this happens then you should choose to save, otherwise just carry on to step three as normal.

3.A little box will appear and ask you where you wish to save the program. You can do this anywhere you like, but you should take care to remember wherever you choose, as you will need to look here later to find whatever it is you are downloading. Once you are happy with the location, click the “save as” button.

4.The program will now begin to download. A progress bar will appear telling you how much has been transferred so far – once that bar reaches 100% you have all of the software on your computer and you are free to begin using it. The time it takes each particular program to download will depend on how large the software is; your browser will often give you a rough estimate of how long you have remaining If you decide that you don't want to finish downloading the software you may click cancel at any time, but obviously then you will not be able to use the program.

5.Once it is finished downloading then you can begin using your software. However, often you must “install” the program before using it for the first time...

The Next Steps

So, you've downloaded the software, now what? Well, firstly you have to find the file you downloaded, this should not be difficult as you will have chosen the location before you began downloading. Once you have found the file, then you must look to see what type of file it is.

If the file is an executable file (recognisable as it has the letters .exe at the end of its name) then either the program can install straight away, or it is compressed and needs to uncompress itself. Either way, all you have to do is double-click the icon and the process will begin, from there you can move on to installing the program.

Unzipping

If the file is a zip file (has the letters .zip after its name) then you have a little more work to do. Before you can actually get at the program you have to “unzip “ it. If you use Microsoft XP then this is easy, and you can simply double-click on the icon, otherwise you will have to use an unzipping application. There are many to choose from, one of the most popular is named “WinZip” and is available as shareware. Once you have installed winzip or an equivalent you can then double-click on your downloaded file, and it will begin the unzipping process.

If you are not sure what type of file your program is, (i.e., it has neither “.zip” nor “.exe” at the end of its name) then you should consult any online documentation for further help. If this fails then try double-clicking the file and seeing what happens.

Installation

The actual installation process differs from program to program, so it is impossible to explain exactly what will happen. However, normally you will be presented with a series of options, asking questions such as where you wish to install the program. It is normally a good idea to leave these options at their defaults, and continue clicking next until you are told the program is installed. For a more detailed and specific explanation you should check the documentation or help files that come with the software.