Below are links to reviews and sites for affordable shareware that will save you time, eye stress, and/or money.
Our latest addition is an updated review of 12Ghosts' 12-Backup, which can provide up-to-the minute backups of your most important files.
(Software is listed by review date in descending order. CTRL-F will bring up the "find" or "search" box on most browsers.)
| Product and Description | Date | Free Trial from Manufacturer | How to Pay | |
| 12Ghosts Backup | Backup utility with scheduling features | Jul 28, 2003 | 12Ghosts | Buy from 12Ghosts |
| AISBackup | Backup Software | May 6, 2003 | Aquarius I. S. Consultancy Ltd. | Buy here or from Aquarius I. S. Consultancy Ltd. |
| WinCatalog Lite | Catalog utility for disks & other media | Nov 3, 2002 | WinCatalog.com | Buy here or from WinCatalog.com |
| Timers - 5 products compared: | Mar 10, 2002 | See review | Click on manufacturer's site in review | |
| Screen capture - 7 products compared: | Jan 31, 2002 | See review | See review | |
| SubmitWolf Pro | Search engine submission software | Jan 17, 2002 | Trellian | Buy here or from Trellian |
| TextAloud MP3 | Screen reader (for SIGHTED people) | Jan 7, 2002 | NextUp.com | Buy here or from NextUp.com |
| GetRight | Internet download utility with efficiency features | Jan 7, 2002 | Headlight Software | Buy here or from Headlight Software |
| T.N.T. Screen Capture | Captures screen images | Dec 12, 2001 | ec-software.com | Buy from ec-software.com |
| NetCaptor | Browser with efficiency features | Dec 4, 2001 | NetCaptor | Buy here or from NetCaptor |
I recommend these simply as one computer user to another. Download the free trials. If you don't like them, uninstall them and owe nothing!
If you know of shareware that is very helpful to the nontechnical computer user, I would be interested. I also appreciate comments and questions about what I have featured here. Please
In case you are unfamiliar with shareware, let me introduce you to a great marketing strategy favored by independent software developers. You get to try the program out for free, often for a limited time - 20 or 30 days is standard - before you decide to buy it. By the original definition, "shareware" was spread by sharing it - anybody had license to copy it and give it to anyone they wanted, as long as credit went to the creator and payment instructions were included. Some is still spread that way, but the risks of someone inserting a virus into it before they distribute copies are fairly high. Your best bet is to get it straight from the manufacturer, who has an interest in keeping it virus-free.
Some companies use the strategy of inserting third-party advertising into their free shareware. Once you pay, the ads go away. Headlight Software uses an ad display area that is not obnoxious, unlike Juno (a provider of free Internet access), which does its best to get the ad in your face.
Sometimes you can still find software that is free for an extended period - for as long as you don't feel guilty or can't afford to buy it - but in any case, you are under a moral, if not a practical, obligation to pay for it only after you have decided it is worth using - and therefore worth paying for.
The distinction between shareware and other software, which often includes a free trial period, has grown fuzzy over time, as creators tend to use whatever strategies work to get their programs distributed and then purchased.
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Revised: July 10, 2005