by You can decide which of these should be in the top 10.
1. Buy now?
2. Registration Screen on ‘Start-Up’.
3. No ‘Help’ files.
4. It’s a beta version, and all other apps on the site are shareware.
5. The PayPal banner takes up half the header on the page.
6. Favored freeware that does one thing very well and then quickly evolves
WAY beyond the scope of its original design.
7. It’s a professional-looking site. There’s only one app on the web site.
Let’s call it app “XYZ”. The author is “XYZ Software”. The web site is
www.XYZ.com.
8. It’s a professional looking site, but there’s no information about the
company/author(s).
9. The splash screen says “You have 30 free days remaining before you need
to upgrade the software” or “this version expires on mm/dd/yy”. (RegCool and
Microsoft Antispyware are both freeware, but their versions expire after a
time, so you have to download new ones. They are not shareware or trialware,
just freeware that expires, or expireware.)
10. The app is keyed registerware => total control of distribution => no
*usable* last freeware versions can be downloaded once the switch is made. .
. I think that a *really* good indicator.
11. The web site says “This version is free for a limited time”. It may be
expireware, or if no expiration is built-into the program, the author may
only be making it available as freeware for, say, 1 month. Then he will
start charging for it, and you won’t be able to download it again unless you
buy the program or pay for a premium membership.
12. Free to download.
13. Free to try.
14. Free for personal or noncommercial use.
15. Addons, Upgrades, and/or Technical Support are only available to
registered users.
16. Each new free version has fewer and fewer features, and one day they
decide to do away with the free version completely (Everest Home Edition).
17. The web site clearly states “What new features would you like to see in
the next version of XYZ program?”, and there is a link underneath to a web
page or email address where you can submit your comments.