Download.com vs. Shareware.com
Download.com offers quick and intuitive access to more than 20,000 Windows, Macintosh, DOS, Linux, Palm OS, Windows CE, and BeOS software programs that are available for download over the Internet. The Download.com team evaluates and categorizes these programs, and gathers critical information about them to help you decide if a program is suitable for your system and needs.
Shareware.com, on the other hand, allows downloaders to search a variety of existing Internet software archives containing 250,000 freeware and shareware files. These files are organized by archive and are not categorized. File descriptions at Shareware.com are provided by third parties and may not include system requirements or other relevant details.
Both Download.com and Shareware.com allow users to download the software programs they want from several World Wide Web and FTP sites around the world, and both offer a reliability guide, which points users toward the download location most likely to be successful.
Navigating Download.com
The programs listed on Download.com are divided into categories for easy browsing:
Windows, Mac, Linux, Palm OS, and Windows CE.
You can also check out one of the following lists--Most Popular, New Releases, or Our Picks--for quick results. Search boxes are also available on each page of our site.
For the latest and greatest downloadable programs, look at the "Today in Downloads" section on our home page. If you want more in-depth software reviews, related resources, or news from around the CNET network, check out the "More CNET resources" section.
The black bar across the top and bottom of Download.com provides easy access to the other channels or sites within the CNET network:
CNET,
Message Boards, and
CNET Support.
Software licenses: demos, shareware, and freeware
There are three types of software available on Download.com: demos, shareware, and freeware.
Demos are versions of commercially vended programs that give you a preview of what the program can do. Most of the demos are interactive; if you like what you see, you can buy the full version.
Shareware is software that you can try before you buy. Though these programs are all copyrighted, you can download them freely, try them out, and pass them around to people you know. However, after using the software for a trial period, you are expected to register and pay for it, or delete it from your system.
Freeware is copyrighted, fully functional software that you can download, use, and legally share with colleagues and friends. Unlike shareware, freeware carries no registration fee.
Downloading for beginners
If you are having problems downloading, or just want to know exactly what to do before you start, please take a look at "The beginner's guide to downloading." There you'll find step-by-step instructions to help you with downloading and installing programs.
For specific download problems, check out "Help with downloading: specific problems."
Glossary of Internet terms
Do the terms
cache,
HTML,
FTP,
ISP,
encryption, and
VRML
leave you scratching your head? Find out what they and other online terms mean in the
CNET Glossary.
