What’s with the tittle? Mistakes in the editing room? No, it’s not typo. I’m talking about one of the most popular terms in the IT world;ware.
Two of the very first terms that everybody probably most familiar with are hardware and software. Then they go wild from there. We have freeware and share ware; along comes abandonware, donationware, postcardware, spyware, and all of the wares. They are everyware. Bring us to the wareworld.
To be honest, there are too many ‘ware’ words for us to handle. So, when one of my mates asked me about those terms, I decided to dig the hole deeper and draw everybody in with me.
Get a good trip, sit tight, and enjoy the ride. Here is everything that you need to know about wares.
Freeware
It was once known as a trademark of Andrew Fluegelman, the author of MS-DOS communication program PC-TALK III. The term has evolved to be programming that is offered for your use at no cost, monetary or otherwise. One restriction is applied though. The copyright remains the creator(s). Nobody is allowed to after the ware in any way, let alone claim the software as his/her creation.
Adware
It has advertising for other products and/or services built into it. The price you pay for the software is that you have to give up some of your screen real estate (and your attention) for the advertising. Adware is often, in reality, spyware.
Alphaware/Betaware
This is a “rough draft” version of what will be the final version of software. Be careful when using this because you run the risk of having problems with your system.
Careware
The author wants you to send a sum of money to one or more of their favorite charities. The honor system applies here: you must live with your guilt if you don’t make a donation.
CDware
Software that is included on CD’s that come with magazines.
Demoware
This software is intended to allow the user to see what the full version of a program looks like so that they will purchase the unlimited commercial version. Crippleware, time limited software and trial ware are all various types of demoware.
Liteware
This is a free but reduced feature version of a program that normally costs money. The missing features are not disabled (gray-out) in the menu and you are not constantly reminded with popups that the missing feature is only available in the full version.
Orphanware/ Abandonware
It is software that is no longer supported or offered to the public by the original author or company. With the author’s permission, orphanware can become freeware. Be careful with copyright violation when using orphanware.
Shareware
This means “try before you buy”. Obviously, this is not freeware since ultimately you are supposed to pay for the software. There are several kinds of shareware:
- Crippleware – the number of available features are limited. Purchasing the software removes these limitations and renders the software fully functional.
- Nagware – there is a popup (nag) screen at program startup, encouraging you to purchase the software.
- Time limited – this is also considered to be trialware. Some of the features or the entire program become unusable after a period of time.
Spyware
This is the software which is installed in your computer. The software has am access to your hard drive. It can also spy on your surfing habit. You can learn more about spyware at http://www.spychecker.com/spyware.html or http://www.tom-cat.com/spybase/spylist.html.
Often, after you remove the software, the files that do the spying remain on your hard drive. An excellent freeware utility for www.lavasoft.de/aaw/index.html
Trialware
This is usually commercial software that is limited by the author. The intention of the author is that you learn what the program can do and how to use it so that you will then purchase the unlimited commercial version.
Warez
This is stolen software or software for stealing other software. Stolen software is also known as having been pirated for cracked. The use of warez is usually a felony (at least in the U.S). You can be punished by a large fine or prison time if you are caught.
There are tons of other ‘wares’ term used and you can be enlightened on this by surfing on the internet. And as for me, I’ve had enough wares for the time being.
