New
#1
New software trend - Free versions less functional than before
Hi there
Am I alone in seeing a new trend here in Free Software that also has a Paid version. The Freebies seem to become less functional with each release. Sometimes even the FREE version just disappears -- such as things like DYNDNS if you ever used that for accessing your computer from outside a router and your ISP gives you dynamic IP's.
Another one is the Virtual DVD / CD mounter in W7 (W8 has native function for this) - a very decent product was the Alcohol 52% free edition -- it's still there but much harder to find now. Still available on places like CNET but its hard to find on the developers site.
http://www.alcohol-soft.com/
(You actually have to go to DOWNLOAD TRIAL to even see a mention that there IS a free version at all !!).
I see for example that the latest version of Partition Wizard (Free version) won't handle dynamic disks - but the EARLIER version did.
Seems that the days of decent FREE software might finally be coming to an end - at least as far as Windows is concerned.
Hopefully this trend isn't a permanent one -- but it seems everybody is trying to "Monetise" --Isn't that an absolutely HIDEOUS word -- their products now.
(I always keep a backup of earlier versions of products even after upgrading to a newer one -- then I can always revert to the older (and often better) version).
Cheers
jimbo