I'm sure that all you folks compassionate enough to visit this page have heard of terms like shareware, freeware, trial, and demo. Basically, freeware is completely free software for your computer, while shareware, trials, and demos are free for a while but need or request some sort of payment after a time. Anyways, on this column, being a somewhat-experienced Webmaster, I'll teach you how to find nearly everything piece of software you need absolutely free of charge. Also, all of this advice is legal.

Since the Internet provides such a convenient source for the exchange of files, many developers and companies post their software online for users to download. Fortunately, many nice folks offer their software for free -- freeware. There are many huge databases of links to downloadable software online, some of the more prominent being Download, Softseek, DaveCentral, the Free Site, and Shareware. Most of these sites have a search capability into which you can type in keywords that involve the software you are looking for. Most of these sites also display shareware and freeware mixed in with each other, so you need to weed out the sheep from the goats.

Lastly, don't think that you can get absolutely everything for free. Decent image editors usually don't run cheap, and operating systems, except for Linux, aren't for free most of the time. If you want the top-of-the-line software, you will probably need to fork over some dough -- just a reminder.

Be sure to check out my next feature -- a commentary on the wonderful Jeff's Neighborhood.