General Computer Question 17: What is public domain and shareware?
Answer: There is a great deal of software that is
available for free or for a nominal copying fee. Users are free to make a copy
of public domain software and use it without the
restrictions of licenses found on commercial software. Documentation included
with this type of software often encourages users to make copies and distribute
them to friends.
Another category of inexpensive
software, called shareware, may be copyrighted, but
generally the developer allows users to make copies without an initial charge.
However, if you intend to use the software beyond a brief tryout, the developer
requests that you pay for the program. The cost of shareware is generally quite
a bit less than off-the-shelf software and is frequently sold at computer swap
meets, conventions, through the mail, and over the internet.
