shareware

shareware

Software on the "honor system." The concept is that users try a product, and if they like it, they voluntarily pay a set registration fee or make a donation to the program's creator. There are tens of thousands of shareware programs; some fantastic, some awful.

Typically written part time by individuals, shareware had its heyday in the 1980s and early 1990s. Although some products were extremely successful, the bulk were not, which is why a lot of shareware evolved into trial versions and light versions (see trialware and light version).

Shareware Vendors and Sites
Prior to the Web, "shareware vendors" copied hundreds of shareware programs onto floppy disks and sold them by mail order or at computer flea markets. They collected a small fee for the distribution service, although many novices thought it was the software registration fee. After the Web, shareware sites sprang up to provide venues for distribution. See crippleware, freeware, public domain software, ASP and ad-supported software.

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shareware [′sher‚wer]

(computer science)

Copyrighted software that can be tried before buying.

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(software)

shareware - /sheir'weir/ Software that, like freeware, can be usually obtained (downloaded) and redistributed for free, but most often is under copyright and does legally require a payment in the EULA, at least beyond the evaluation period or for commercial applications. This payment, as well as fulfilling the user's legal obligations, may buy additional support, documentation, or functionality. Generally, source code for shareware programs is not available. Shareware is sometimes also nagware and/or crippleware, which muddles the term and is frowned upon in the community. See also careware, charityware, guiltware, postcardware, and -ware; compare payware.