Just how long has Freeware been around?
Most folks will remember their first 'love' encounter but what about their
first Freeware encounter?

I thought it might be interesting to hear from folks in this group (I've
been here for many a year under different sigs going back to the days of
SOS, Bambam, Tiger et al) about their First Freeware Experience as in:
The Year
Name of the Program
Still Use It (what version is it at now)
Or, What did it evolve to?


My first freeware experience was with Polyview back in 1994 IIRC.
I still use it (Version 4.0) but it is no longer freeware. I believe I paid
$10.00 (USD) for the license and, unlike WinZip, it remains free to update
forever.
It has evolved into a sophisticated graphics manipulation program but, as I
mentioned, is no longer freeware.

What about you?
--
stormy weather

The first freeware was used in ancient calculating machines, that are
considered the first mechanical computers

It was freeware because money was given only to make the hardware, the
software or then primitive program was not thought of as something that has
value, thus it was free.


"emeless" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Just how long has Freeware been around?
> Most folks will remember their first 'love' encounter but what about their
> first Freeware encounter?
>
> I thought it might be interesting to hear from folks in this group (I've
> been here for many a year under different sigs going back to the days of
> SOS, Bambam, Tiger et al) about their First Freeware Experience as in:
> The Year
> Name of the Program
> Still Use It (what version is it at now)
> Or, What did it evolve to?
>
>
> My first freeware experience was with Polyview back in 1994 IIRC.
> I still use it (Version 4.0) but it is no longer freeware. I believe I
> paid $10.00 (USD) for the license and, unlike WinZip, it remains free to
> update forever.
> It has evolved into a sophisticated graphics manipulation program but, as
> I mentioned, is no longer freeware.
>
> What about you?
> --
> stormy weather
>

"emeless" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Just how long has Freeware been around?
> Most folks will remember their first 'love' encounter but what about their
> first Freeware encounter?
>
> I thought it might be interesting to hear from folks in this group (I've
> been here for many a year under different sigs going back to the days of
> SOS, Bambam, Tiger et al) about their First Freeware Experience as in:
> The Year
1977/78
> Name of the Program
emacs
> Still Use It (what version is it at now)
how many grains of sand on the beach?
> Or, What did it evolve to?
emacs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman

emeless wrote:
>
> I thought it might be interesting to hear from folks in this group (I've
> been here for many a year under different sigs going back to the days of
> SOS, Bambam, Tiger et al) about their First Freeware Experience as in:
> The Year
> Name of the Program
> Still Use It (what version is it at now)
> Or, What did it evolve to?

Probably the first would have been Archie and also Veronica. That would
have been back around 1992. Most people know how graphical UIs for
accessing the internet and ftp evolved and replaced them, but if
anybody's interested:

http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_browse.htm

--
Regards from John Corliss. I don't reply to trolls like Andy Mabbett.
No ad, cd, commercial, cripple, demo, nag, PROmotion, share, spy,
time-limited or trial wares or warez for me, please.

"emeless" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> Just how long has Freeware been around?
> Most folks will remember their first 'love' encounter but what about
> their first Freeware encounter?
>
> I thought it might be interesting to hear from folks in this group (I've
> been here for many a year under different sigs going back to the days of
> SOS, Bambam, Tiger et al) about their First Freeware Experience as in:
> The Year
> Name of the Program
> Still Use It (what version is it at now)
> Or, What did it evolve to?
>
>
> My first freeware experience was with Polyview back in 1994 IIRC.
> I still use it (Version 4.0) but it is no longer freeware. I believe I
> paid $10.00 (USD) for the license and, unlike WinZip, it remains free to
> update forever.
> It has evolved into a sophisticated graphics manipulation program but,
> as I mentioned, is no longer freeware.
>
> What about you?

I can't remember that far back. I had an Atari Mega ST (circa 1985) and there was lots of freeware for that. I
suspect there was stuff around for the Apple II and that's 1977.

There's a lot of youngsters in this grooup. They go back as far as
1992 and maybe the 80's.!

On Thu, 27 Jul 2006 06:55:58 -0400, "emeless" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>Just how long has Freeware been around?
>Most folks will remember their first 'love' encounter but what about their
>first Freeware encounter?
>
>I thought it might be interesting to hear from folks in this group (I've
>been here for many a year under different sigs going back to the days of
>SOS, Bambam, Tiger et al) about their First Freeware Experience as in:
>The Year
>Name of the Program
>Still Use It (what version is it at now)
>Or, What did it evolve to?
>
>
>My first freeware experience was with Polyview back in 1994 IIRC.
>I still use it (Version 4.0) but it is no longer freeware. I believe I paid
>$10.00 (USD) for the license and, unlike WinZip, it remains free to update
>forever.
>It has evolved into a sophisticated graphics manipulation program but, as I
>mentioned, is no longer freeware.
>
>What about you?

It's has been so long that I can't even remember which freeware app. I
know that I downloaded my first freeware app during July 1997 (I've
been on the NET since July 1997).

Eugene Esterly III wrote:
> It's has been so long that I can't even remember which freeware app. I
> know that I downloaded my first freeware app during July 1997 (I've
> been on the NET since July 1997).
>
>

10 years = long ago ??

Seems to be an American time calculation

"FTR" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:44c9dbc6$0$830$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Eugene Esterly III wrote:
>> It's has been so long that I can't even remember which freeware app. I
>> know that I downloaded my first freeware app during July 1997 (I've
>> been on the NET since July 1997).
>>
>>
>
> 10 years = long ago ??
>
> Seems to be an American time calculation

Was it worth 3 billionths of your life expectancy to say that?
Was it worth 3 billionths of your life expectancy to read this?

1984, There was lots of freeware programs for my first computer, a
Sinclair Spectrum. Most them came in written form in british computer
magazines, so I had to write them into the computer by hand, and it was
often thousands of lines of code.

Later we got the freeware on soundcasette tapes, and that time period
was also the beginning of using copies of commercial programs that
were made and distributed between friends.

The most advanced program from those days was a submarine simulation
program, which was first published in written form in a computer
magazine, later released as a commercial program on casette. So you
actually paid for the casette, not for the program, because it was both
open source and freeware.

It is like sending for a free linux version on CD today, you pay for
the medium and the postal service but the software is both open source
and freeware.


--
Roger J.