Essential Computer Software
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Essential Computer Software
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For our purposes though, what would be more relevant is its classification in terms of the pricing model employed by its developers. In terms of Software pricing models, the following are the categories:
Freeware
Trialware
Adware
Donationware
Shareware
Commercial Software
Application Service Provider (ASP) Software
Each of these is described below
Freeware
Freeware is exactly what the term means. These are completely free - you pay 0.00 to own such software! Freeware may have limited capabilities, with its full version (which would be a shareware) having all the features. However, there are a number of excellent freeware that is fully functional as well - WinZip, the most popular File Compressor, IrfanView, a most popular Photo Viewer, WinAmp, the most popular music player, etc., are fully-functional, yet cost 0.00! We have mentioned a number of excellent freeware, across the pages at WellOiledPC! Usually, freeware are written by developers who do not seek money for their creations, though they would be thrilled by due recognition!
A word of advise: If you are under the impression that all Freeware software are inferior to full-blown, commercial software, you would be mistaken - some of the best, most popular software (including the 3 named in the previous paragraph) are examples of excellent freeware!
Yet another word of advise, mixed with caution: Do not download software from the Internet merely because its developer claims it does fancy things. Among other stuff, the Internet is replete with sites that peddle Crippleware (i.e., incompletely-tested and faulty software) and Malware (software that promises to do something, but does something else - usually something harmful, to your Computer and thus compromising it) and Junkware (software that is neither faulty or harmful - software that is merely junk, occupying your Hard Disk space). It is a good idea to ask a software-savvy friend (or us at WellOiledPC!), before blindly downloading freeware from the Internet!
Note that some users use the term Crippleware for Freeware that has limited functionality. However, we at WellOiledPC reserve the term for incompletely tested and faulty software - whether free or commercial
Trialware
Trialware is the term used for software that is free and fully functional - for a certain number of days. The user is allowed to check out and decide whether (s)he wants to buy it, during the trial period. Usually, the trialware stops functioning after the trial period (which may vary from 7 days to 3 months) is over. To continue using it, one needs to purchase the commercial version - usually shareware, of the software. Most of the Symantec security products are available as Trialware. You are therefore free to install the trial version of, say Norton 360, and check its efficiency with respect to quashing viruses. If you like it and want to continue using it, you will need to purchase the software, before or soon after the trial period is over.
Trialware developers today employ highly sophisticated methods to count the number of days you have been using their software. Some of the methods used earlier to hoodwink trialware into believing that the trial period is not yet over were changing the Computer's date, uninstalling and re-installing the trialware once again (thus giving it a fresh lease of 'trial' life), editing the trialware's installation logs, etc. Today, short of reformatting and re-installing Windows itself, there is usually no way to hoodwink the trialware into believing that the trial period is not yet over, when it is over.
An interesting and different type of trialware lets you use the software a specific number of times - 5 times or 50, after which you would have to pay up to continue using it. This is a less popular method, in comparison with the time-dependent trialware model
Adware
Adware is also software that is free to own, with the difference that while you use it, you are also displayed advertisements of other products. Some of the advertised products may be developed by the same organization or individual developer too. Therefore, the cost of developing the software is met by the advertisements that pop up when you use the software, much like advertisements you see in Print and on TV. Some of the excellent Adware are File Downloaders like GoZilla, e-Mail clients like Eudora and FTP Software such as AceFTP.
Donationware
Donationware is software where you are encouraged to pay a donation - whatever you can afford or are willing to pay, for using the software. Usually, you are free to download and use the software - the developer expects you to make a donation if you like his creation and intend to use it. The developer expects that sufficient people will like his software and would contribute, so that his/ her expenses on building the software are fully recovered. SpyBot, an excellent weapon in your fight against Spyware, is an example of a great Donationware.
Shareware
Shareware is software that is extremely low-priced. We would not be exaggerating if we say that some of the best software doing the rounds is Shareware. Some of these are priced as low as US$10/-, with features that match commercial software priced 10 times higher! Shareware developers do not have the huge marketing overheads and other fixed costs that commercial software developers have. As a result, their production costs are minuscule, in comparison. They hope that a large number of users buy their product and thus, expect to recover their developmental expenses.
Commercial Software
Commercial Software comprises of the products of bug software developers like Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Adobe, etc. Usually, commercial software are large and complex, with man features. Such software takes many man-months to develop, justifying the higher cost one has to pay, to buy them. Examples of commercial software are Windows itself, Microsoft's Office suite, Adobe's Creative Suite for publishing, all databases such as the ones developed by Oracle, etc. Usually, commercial software developers are very efficient with continuously refining their product, identifying and issuing patches to plug bugs in their solutions and in providing support, including training, for their registered users.
Application Service Provider (ASP) Software
ASP solutions are perhaps the latest of software pricing models. With an ASP software, you 'rent out' the software you want to use. When you demand it, it is available to you, provided you have paid up for all your past usage of it! This kind of software pricing is also called On Demand model. A number of Enterprise Resource Planning solutions (ERP) are based on the ASP model. Usually, these are complex, massive software solutions that touch every department of an organization. The advantage of the ASP model is that more than one organization shares the development cost of the software, without compromising on the security of their data. The other advantage is that when they decide to move on, their decision is made easier, since they have not made a downright purchase of the software!
Usually, ASP software are web-based and runs off an Application Server. A small portion of it (the Client side) alone is installed onto the user's machine, allowing the user to access the software wherever (s) he may be. Such a model works very well for traveling staff such as Salesmen, as well as for those working from home and, such as Accounting staff.
While there are Freeware, Trialware, Adware, Donationware, and Shareware for most commercial software, this is not the case with ASP Software. ASP software are usually complex, with modules that may be used for different purposes by different sets of professionals. Individual software developers or small software development firms usually do not have the required skills, manpower or funds to develop these.
Professionals using Computers may run specialized software to help them in their careers. Similarly, hobbyists may run specialized software that helps them further their hobbies. For example, a professional Market Researcher would run SPSS, a Doctor would run a specialist Diagnostic software, a Finance Professional would run a specialist Financial software, a Mechanical Design professional would run specialist design software such as AutoCAD, and so on.
As far as hobbies are concerned, a specialist Video Editing software is required to convert your amateur home video, shot with your digital video camcorder, into a DVD; a specialist software is required to get your web camera working, if you keep in regular touch with loved ones settled far away, a specialist Language program is required, if you are using your Computer to learn a foreign language, a high-end Graphics card and specialist software to fully utilize the card's capabilities is required if you enjoy playing high-end Computer games, and so on. The possibilities are endless, therefore we shall not attempt to cover them at all. For a detailed description of what you can do with your Computer, click here!
As described above, your Computer is capable of running many different software applications. The list of specialist applications is massive and therefore, we are not covering them. In this section, we list what we at WellOiledPC believe, are 'universal', general, basic software applications that the every Computer user should run, regardless of his or her profession, hobbies, age, location or attitude to life. For a detailed description of each software category, do click on the appropriate link in the left-most column, below.
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Software Category & Link |
Brief Description |
Choice of Applications |
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Without the OS, your Computer would not even start up! It is recommended that you purchase a Computer with the OS pre-installed by the computer vendor, so you do not have to grapple with installing and setting it up on your own! Windows XP is the most popular OS today (Also check out the link The Windows Registry link under the PC Services\ PC Security MenuItem, from the WellOiledPC Navigation Bar) |
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Antivirus Software are your investment against Viruses. If you do not run an Antivirus, your computer may get affected by viruses within 5 minutes of connecting to the Internet! Norton Antivirus is the most popular Anti Virus today |
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Anti Spyware protect your computer from Spyware threats. Although less common than viruses, Spyware are much more dangerous, as they ferret out your personal information - including Bank and Credit Card details - from your computer and sends it out to the Spyware creators! It is difficult to estimate the most popular Anti Spyware today, as this category of software is still new, being less than 5 years old! |
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Your copy of Windows needs maintenance and constant checks for correction. However obviously, users would not like to be doing it themselves - their time is limited. Enter Disk Management Utilities that check and correct your copy of Windows, check and correct your Hard Disk, give you early warning signals for possible Hard Disk, Memory and other part failures. Indeed, a good Disk Utility is like your Family Doctor - the Doctor knows each person in your family and their medical records by-heart, warns you before you fall seriously sick and when you do, gives you the best cure, and is easy to call in when there is an emergency! There are a number of Disk Utilities that do one or more of these tasks, but Symantec SystemWorks is the best of them all. If you are looking for a Disk Utility, you do not need to look beyond SystemWorks! |
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System slowdown? Frequent crashes, yet no sign of Viruses or Spyware? It could be that your Windows Registry needs to be cleaned! Read our shootout of 10 top Windows Registry Optimizers and get your Computer back and running like it used to, without having to re-install your Operating System and all software! |
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Word Processors let create documents like letters, articles, etc. Word Processing is one of the most basic requirements from a Computer. MS Word is easily the best-known Word Processor today |
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7. Spreadsheets (!) |
A Spreadsheet is used for mathematical calculations from the simple to complex statistical and scientific calculations. By automating calculations, Spreadsheets allow the user to concentrate on the solution, instead of wasting time on checking the calculations! MS Excel is easily the best-known Spreadsheet today |
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8. Presentations (!) |
Today, Presentation Software are used everyone - Doctors, Businessmen, Corporate Executives of all functional areas, even politicians! Presentation software help in putting down your thoughts in the form of text, pictures, sounds and movie clippings, so that your ideas/ message gets across in strong terms to your audience. Today, it is difficult to imagine how the human race survived without Presentation software! MS PowerPoint is the best-known Presentation Software today |
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9. Databases (!) |
Want to manage large chunks of data that have some common characteristics? Thats what databases are for! Check out our review of popular database solutions! |
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A Browser is required if you want to surf the Internet. MS Internet Explorer is the clear market leader amongst Browsers |
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An e-Mail client has to be on your Computer, for you to send/ receive e-Mail most efficiently. MS Outlook/ Outlook Express is the most commonly-used e-Mail client today |
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Too busy to remember your appointments on time? Been missing Credit Card payment dates? Have a number of friends' e-Mail addresses and telephone numbers? Look no further - Personal Organizers (also called Personal Information Managers or PIMs) are here to manage all this (and more!) for you, in a way that very few human beings can! |
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Today, many documents are distributed in the .PDF format. To read such documents, you need to have Adobe Reader. No competition to Adobe Reader! |
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Too many files occupying your Hard Disk but do not want to delete them? Looking for some way to somehow compress them and free disk space? Look at our review of the best File Compressors - most of them free to use, as long as you don't use them for commercial purposes! |
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The more you use Computers for your tasks (say managing your Bank Account, booking your tickets, etc.), the more Passwords you need to remember. Some websites (like Banks) even require that you periodically change your password. However, it is humanly impossible to remember multiple passwords - using a single username and password for all the websites where you log into is pretty childish as well. The solution is a Password Manager that stores all your Passwords - with the Password Manager itself being password-protected! In this section, we present a few excellent freeware Password Managers - you'll never need to use the 'Forgot Password' link on your favorite website again! |
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These are applications that let you view your digital photographs as a slide show, help you touch up your digital photos, help you resize/ rotate photos as well as help you save your digital photographs in a different format. It is difficult to estimate the most popular Photo Viewer. We at WellOiledPC love IrfanView for its simple-yet-powerful features and the fact that it is completely free! Our Best wishes to its developer, the one and only Irfan Skiljan! |
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Store, listen/ watch, edit and share your music/ video files, with these easy-to-use solutions! What's more, all of them are freeware! |
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Automate your Bank Account, know exactly how much cash you have in hand, never miss your Credit Card payments - all this and more are possible with the latest breed of Personal Finance solutions! |
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