Rows and rows of software on sale are available in any computer store today. Although they are tempting, buying software off the shelves holds a few problems of its own. Commercial software can be incompatible, outdated as well as expensive compared with what is available online. Although it is not new and it is one of the most overlooked opportunities in the computer industry, there is another option to commercial software. This alternative is the use of shareware, software you can try before you buy.



Shareware has been around for years and its competition with commercial software is intense. Still it seems to be untouched by many new computer users, advantages over commercial software notwithstanding. Shareware represents a very interesting concept indeed.

Shareware is more economical compared to most commercial software. However, keep in mind that economical does not mean low quality, there are many examples that prove shareware will often outperform the quality of commercial software.

Shareware offers the opportunity to try before you buy; thereby giving you the opportunity to find out if the software is indeed compatible with your computer system before making a purchase. Keep in mind that the commercial software policy leaves no allowance for its return and you cannot take them on loan to find out if you can use them and actually like using them.

Another advantage of shareware over commercial software is that it is legitimate while offering you the ability to test the latest version of a shareware program.

Shareware is available all over the Internet. Shareware is bountiful in download libraries and many companies and independent programmers offer shareware from their own websites. Simply entering keywords related to your program of interest into a search engine will see you receive many results of Shareware available to you.

You should also keep in mind that you may not experience a full program as you would if you bought the software out of a box. Shareware may or may not be limited, which means that some of its functionality may not be available to you until you have paid for the program. These limitations are normally small and do not interfere with the core operation. Actually, they are devised in such a way as to encourage purchasing of the software. Shareware is not freeware and you should not expect it to work indefinately. At some stage you will have to pay to enjoy the functionality that the sofware offers.

The only similarity between shareware and commercial software is that they can both be paid for with a credit card. With a credit card, you can soon be the owner of a Shareware program that exactly fulfill your needs.