Wiundows freeware vs Linux open source

[SomeBuntu]

Have you ever noticed that when you get freeware/shareware for Windows

it doesn't do what it was supposed to do and/or
it is full of spyware/addware and/or
it is only a demo version that will expire in a few days and/or
it requires you to send private information/register and/or
it is a virus and/or
it comes with a license agreement

Compare this with open source which is truly free.
I guess that it just reflects the different ethics of each camp; those that do it for money and those that do it for the community.

[SunnyRabbiera]

well not all shareware or freeware is like that and that is a big plus on the freeware/shareware department.
Thank goodness Opera stopped their practice of it, its become a good alternative browser because it cut its lame adds of the past.

[TBOL3]

Yep, unless you're trying to leach something out of your users, freeware makes no sense, (I can at least see where shareware comes from). But, the only non-spyware filled, non-illegal freeware usually becomes shareware.

Anyway, to continue with the list...

7. And/or it is just a ripped copy of someone else's software, and/or
8. It is illegal, and/or

[arsenic23]

Of course there are plenty of open source programs available for Windows, and some that are available only on windows. Also, unless my memory is jaded, 5-8 years ago there actually used to be plenty of decent freeware for Windows, though most of the good ones seem to have evolved into comercial software.

[Depressed Man]

Like SunnyRabbiera said. Not all of them are like that. I use some freeware, shareware, and donationware (well technically it's free but the author appreciates donations ;) )that are so great that I wish Linux had an equivilant of them occasionally.

Actually I'll list one (to see if anyone can help me find an application like this).

Find and Run Robot (FARR) done by Mouser from donationcoder.com

The closest thing I can get to it so far is the search bar applet that can load programs, search beagle, etc.. But I wish it could have its own seperate window that I could summon with a keypress.

[jimrz]

yeah, lotsa that kinda stuff out there, but there are also some really good things availablw without such issues:
Firefox
Thunderbird
Opera
OOo
The Open CD (http://theopencd.org/programs) - lotsa nice little stuff - 7 zip, pdf creator, notepad2 + a bunch more

[aysiu]

On one level, this is true, but if you know about open source, you can easily take advantage of the open source programs that are available for Windows:
Firefox
Thunderbird
OpenOffice
GIMP
Notepad++
Inkscape
Scribus
FileZilla

You can find more complete lists here:
http://osswin.sourceforge.net/
http://www.opensourcewindows.org/

[SomeBuntu]

Thanks aysiu. I truly didn't know that there was so much available for Windows. I must have been looking in the wrong places. Turning to Ubuntu has really opened my eyes.

[popch]

Have you ever noticed that when you get freeware/shareware for Windows

it comes with a license agreement

Compare this with open source which is truly free..

Open source comes with a license agreement, too.

[karellen]

I use a lot of freeware in windows that has no issues like the ones the OP mentioned. just to mention winamp, paint.net, yahoo messenger, picasa, faststone image viewer, google talk and the list could go on and on. there are plenty of choices for everyone in this field

[DreadPirateRoby]

Yeah, there is some great freeware out there and I don't really have a problem with a developer choosing not to release their source code. I'm not even really bothered that much by licenses that restrict the right to redistribute whatever I got from them, but one thing I don't like is licenses that try and restrict my or any one elses right to modify it for our own personal use. That's just being obnoxious.

[AndyCooll]

Before I changed to Linux, because my conscience had gotten the better of me I put together a a fully-fuctional, fully-featured XP system where the only software I had purchased was the OS itself. And none of the programs displayed any of the problems issued by the OP.

It was as I was looking for free stuff that I came across the open-source movement. Since then I've always preferred open-source apps over closed ones. However, I have no problem using closed source apps (freeware, shareware or whatever) if that's the licence the developer has chosen, it gets the job done, and there isn't a suitable open-source alternative. And in the Windows world there's plenty of good apps around if you're prepared to search a bit.

I'll mention a few more: Azureus, CDex (rips audio files), Audacity, Easytag, Shareaza, Turbocash, Xchat, Blender, PuTTY.

And then there's the closed source Adobe Acrobat, Trillian, Realplayer etc.

:cool: