Freeware and Shareware (Almost-freeware)

Presented on August 27, 2002
by Ali Steinbergs

If you wanted to, you could load up your Mac with hundreds of software files for which you have paid little or nothing. There are two (relatively) safe ways to get good, inexpensive Macintosh software:

Download it to your computer. This requires that your computer be connected to the internet.

Buy a Macintosh magazine which has a CD included with it (cost of such magazines is about $10.00).

Terminology and information which you may find useful:

Size: refers to the size of the software file. (Such files are almost always compressed, and will usually decompress themselves on your computer). If you have a dial-up connection, size may be important: it may take only a few seconds to download a file of 160 K (kilobytes), but many minutes to download a file of 22 MB (megabytes).

Operating system: If your computer is using system 8.x or 9.x, look for a link like Mac OS. If you are using system 10.x, look for OS X.

License: refers to how you are allowed to use the software; the most common categories are:

freeware: no cost whatsoever. Often the creator of the program is just learning to write a program and wants the practice. They may write other programs that are for sale but provide some programs for free so you can see if you like the way this author writes, and you might buy their other programs. They may just like to give their programs away because they like the concept of free software. Just because they are free does not mean these programs are inferior to purchased software: they are often just as good and in some cases a whole lot better.
shareware: usually a minimal cost (for example: $10.00 US, $30.00 US). This is software that is provided for the cost of materials plus a small profit. It is designed to let you try it out before you purchase it, usually for a limited time period of thirty days or so. After this time you are required to either purchase the program or remove it from your hard drive. Once you pay for the software, usually by ordering it on the internet, you are e-mailed a serial number which you enter into the program which registers the program and allows you to use it forever. If you don't remove the software at the prescribed time, it either stops working altogether, or part of it doesn't work anymore, or a nag screen is displayed reminding you to purchase.
demo: free, but limited (either in time or characteristics) version of a commercial software program; designed to get you to shell out for the full, unlimited version. Useful if you are trying to decide whether or not to buy that software application from Microsoft, Adobe, Corel, or whoever.

(A) Mac OS (8.x, 9.x)

Getting Software by Downloading it to your Computer:

(optional but recommended) put all your desktop shortcuts in a temporary folder (call it “ShortcutTemp” or something like that), so that your desktop is as clean and uncluttered as possible
open your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, etc.); if you are searching for a particular type of software, use www.google.ca to search for it, by typing in relevant keywords
alternately, type in the URL (address) of a download site (several are provided at the end of this handout), and click Return
let’s take the address of C/net Download.com (http://www.download.com.com) as an example
you will see links to different categories of software (Mac OS X Downloads, Internet, Games, Business & Finance, etc.)
click on one of these links (e.g. Utilities), and you will see another set of categories; let’s click on the Screen Savers link
You will see a list of software; you can further specify it by choosing which OS (operating system), license, etc. to use and clicking the Update button
When you find one you like, click on the “Download now” link
wait until the file is finished downloading (it will also usually “unstuff” i.e. decompress itself)
close your browser window
see how many new files are on your desktop; if there is only one, double-click it
if more than one new file has appeared ignore (or better yet, drag to the Trash) any icons of new files with extensions like .sit
double click on the new icon or folder which has appeared and follow directions (especially open any files which contain “Read Me” in the title!)
normally you will be required to drag a folder or the icon of the software to the appropriate folder on your hard disk; make a note of where you have put it
your new software is now installed;

Getting software from a Mac magazine CD:

MacWorld
How to choose an application:

insert the MacWorld CD
double-click icon of the CD to open it
double-click on “Start Here” icon
double-click on “Shareware” button
follow directions (like “continue”) until you see the listing of applications (in alphabetical order, but new ones are in blue, first)
click on the name of an application to get information about it
make a short note of the name of each item you might like to download (e.g. Auntie, BBAUtoComplete, Celestia, ClacEuroCalc, GIFfun, iChoose, iTunes Tool, MenuCalendar, OmniDictionary, PickChar, PrefEdit, RandomBackground, SlashDock, SpamStopper X, X Font Info, XRay, Zingg!, ) what it does, and what type of application it is: Mac OS X, Audio, Educational, Game, Utility, etc., (or send that information page to your printer?????)
when you have perused as much of the list as you want, click on the “Exit” button

How to install an application:

click on the appropriate folder (e.g. Mac OS or OS X)
you will see a list of the applications in their compressed format (usually with extensions like .sit or .dmg.sit)
open the location on your hard drive where you want the new application to reside (the Applications folder, for example).
drag the application(s) you want into the appropriate folder on your hard drive
now open this hard drive folder, find the new application (the one with the .sit or .dmg.sit extension) and double-click on it
this will probably create a file with the extension .dmg
double-click on the .dmg file to decompress it, and follow any directions which appear
(if a folder with the name of the application appears, double-click on it to open it the folder)
double-click on the icon of the application to run that application

MacAddict
How to choose an application:

insert the MacAddict CD
double-click the icon of the MacAddict CD to open it
double-click on the appropriate MacAddict Tour icon (i.e. either Carbon for OS X, or OS 8.1-9.x)
follow directions (e.g.. click on “to the Tour”)
if you don’t like the music, click on the (red) on/off button
click on the “software” button
to choose an area of interest from the list (Audio & Music, Development, Fun & Games, etc.), click on the triangle to the left of its name
you will see a the listing of applications of this type (in alphabetical order)
click on the name of an application to get information about it. Make sure you know whether it is for OS X (OS X or Carbon may be part of the name) or for an earlier operating system
when you have located the an application you want, click on the “Install” button to install it
when you have perused as much of the list as you want, go to the MA Tour menu (top left) and choose “Quit”

How to install an application:

you will see an icon shaped like a drive labeled with the appropriate application’s name on your desktop; double-click on this icon
follow the directions (which usually say something like: “drag the application’s icon into the appropriate folder on your hard drive”
now open this hard drive folder, find the new application
(if a folder with the name of the application has appeared, double-click on it to open it the folder)
double-click on the icon of the application to run that application

(B) OS X

Getting Software by Downloading it to your Computer

(optional but recommended) put all your desktop shortcuts in a temporary folder (call it “ShortcutTemp” or something like that), so that your desktop is as clean and uncluttered as possible
open your browser (Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape Navigator, etc.)
type in the URL (address) of a download site and click Return
for example, type in http://mac.tucows.com/; this will take you to the tucows Macintosh site.
choose a category of software: i.e. pick one of the yellow tabs labeled “Business, Games, Home & Education, … etc.”
say, for example, we pick “Themes”, we will see a further subset of choices: “Computer Sounds, Cursors, Desktop Accessories, …, etc.”
click on one of these, say “Screen Savers”
when the new page is loaded, scroll down (past the “Featured Tucows Programs”!) to see the options.
by default, the software in this category will be listed alphabetically by title, but you can also sort it by Date (most recent at top), License (Freeware first, then Shareware), Rating (most cows first), and Size (smallest files first).
click on the name of any program to get more detailed information about it; make sure it is OS X compatible
when you have found one you like, look for the yellow “download for” area, and pick the appropriate link (OS X)
you may need to select the region to download from (I’d pick the Shaw Cable location in Vancouver, if I were you)
wait for the software to download (normally your Macintosh “Download Manager” window will appear and show you the progress of the download; normally the software will also decompress itself
close your browser window and see how many new files are on your desktop; if there is only one, double-click it
if there are 2 or more, ignore (or better yet, drag to the Trash) any icons of files with extensions like .sit or .dmg
you should see either a folder or an icon of a white drive; double-click this and follow any directions for installation (in particular, open any file with “Read Me” as part of its title)
normally you will be required to drag a folder or the icon of the software to the appropriate folder on your hard disk; make a note of where you have put it
once you have done the installation, drag the white drive icon to the Trash (it will probably change into the Eject button symbol)

Getting software from a Mac magazine CD:

Same as for OS 8.x or 9.x; however there are a few things to keep in mind:

make sure you choose only compatible software (i.e. us OS X links)
icon for an OS X program will usually unstuff to show a white drive

Some Freeware & Shareware Sites:

http://mac.tucows.com/	Tucows site; very useful and easy to use; best rating is 5 cows
http://www.versiontracker.com/	Good site; easy to use
http://download.com.com/	(C/Net Download.com) very useful and easy to use site
http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/	Good site; has same organization as C/Net
http://mirror.macupdate.com/
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/	Has some very old files
http://macware.erehwon.org/	Looks like an amateur site

Best time to download programs: in the morning (connections are faster before 10 am) or late in the evening (after 10 pm).

Ali Steinbergs

Freeware and Shareware (Almost-freeware)

Presented on August 27, 2002 by Ali Steinbergs

Presented on August 27, 2002
by Ali Steinbergs