Is Microsoft(tm) Not for You?

Introducing shareware- A concept that is coming of age.

The giant with software that does almost everything doesn't always produce the result that we want. At least if you're like me, and you're not where you would like to be, you might wish there were alternatives to the inefficiency.

The fact is that there are tons of small software companies looking for niche markets with products that do some very unique things. The majority of these are marketing their stuff as shareware.

If you haven't heard that word before, it means that you can download software and test drive it for a short time (generally a month). If it does what you want/need done then you must register (pay).

Pricewise most of it is far less expensive than the major vendors, though it is usually more specific in it's purpose. In other words they don't try to be everything to everyone.

The good part is that when a company narrows its' focus the results can be very impressive. If you're not selling fluff you can get a lot done.

Of course, when you look for something among hundreds of producers it can get a little complex. There are dozens of sites that host these programs and put them in categories to make
them easier to find.

If this sounds interesting try a few of the links below to get started. When you get to the site and find something that looks good just follow the links, download it to your hard disk,
double click on it and follow the installation program. The next thing you know you have a new program.

Sometimes they download as zip (compressed) files which means you need a program (winzip if you us windows) to unzip(uncompress) them. That's also a free download at http://www.winzip.com . Click on download and then free trial.

bluechillies.com
download.com (the largest)
simplythebest.com
jumbo.com
shareware.com
sharewarejunkies.com
downloads.asp-shareware.com
tucows.com
galttech.com
superfiles.com
freewarefiles.com
passtheshareware.com
and on and on and on...

or go to your favorite search engine and type in shareware.

Dean Walden is the author of '50 Shareware Reviews' which is an ebook with reviews of 50 shareware programs (out of over a hundred) that were downloaded and tested. The ebook includes the site for each program, the cost, a rating and size. To learn more or purchase go to http://www.webgoat.com

This article may be freely reprinted as long as it is not altered and the above author info is included at the end.