No+Free+Tools+Are+Not+Worth+It

We all love to hear the word “free,” especially when it comes to costly software. We all know how costly it is to buy a single license for a popular software program. Imagine that expense multiplied for a business or a school district for multiple licenses. First, you must understand what freeware is. According to wisegeek.com, freeware is freely distributed without time limits. There is freeware available for just about anything you can imagine.

Even though freeware and other free tools are readily available they are not always worth the price. We need to support the software companies that have spent the time, money, and research to remove the bugs and viruses from the programs. By using free tools we are taking the chance of infecting our computers with bugs and viruses.

=The Problem=

Often times free tools found on the internet, such as software, does not come fully supported. This means that after downloading and using a free program on your computer you are on your own to make sure everything runs smoothly. If a technical issue with the programming does arise, there is no one to contact to help you fix the problem. (Stewart, 2005) Also, because there is no financial incentive to fix the problem in a timely manner, problems are likely to occur for an extended period of time.

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media type="youtube" key="uJi2rkHiNqg?fs=1" height="262" width="366" align="left"Any type of software comes with a learning curve. Most teachers want students to focus not on software [|bugs] or configuration settings, but on using the software to complete an end product. Teachers could lose valuable classroom time working out software use problems. Proprietary software should be preferred for classroom use because "Most users are more familiar and more comfortable with proprietary software, especially Microsoft Windows." (Open Options)

While some free software is produced and placed on the internet “out of the goodness of” the creator’s heart, many programs offered have “an ulterior motive”. Often times, free software comes with advertising banners and text ads that can be quite annoying. Sometimes the creators are upfront with letting the user know about this, other times it comes as an after-download surprise. Such “unwanted advertising” may end up becoming a personal information security threat. (Stewart, 2005)

Additionally, "free" may not be forever. In fact, many of the "free" softwares that are out there offer "upgraded" versions for a fee. Those fees go to support the site and the developer behind the site. "...its a matter of dollar and cents. If it's free for you, someone is paying for it. And considering the size of most of these Web 2.0 companies, often that "someone" is the founder and/or developer...But these sites can only keep doing that [offering their product for free] if there is money coming in." (Dembo, 2010) So, there is a risk in editing your curriculum to incorporate these "free" tools if in the long run the developers are unable to offer them for free. The huge cost then becomes your time and effort spend in using a Web 2.0 tools just to have it go away.

One must also consider what else is being downloaded with the "free software." Many times users are unaware of the viruses, Trojans and malware that are being downloaded at the same time the free software is being installed on your computer. (D'Silva) According to Dale Freed, Glendale Union High School District IT Tech, "When you download free software, there are times you get an additional 5 applications that you didn't want. They (the companies or people behind free software) know most people won't realize they have these things." He also says that "What you download is not actually what is advertised. It tells you this, this and this but that's not what you get in the end." The cost of scrubbing hard drives and recovering data is costly and negates the "free" aspect of the software in the end.

Often educational institutions, with their decreased budgets, have to depend on "Open-source software. (Trappler, 2009) Open-source software is software that is available by source that gives permission to the users to use and change it as they wish. (Trappler, 2009) One of the most well-known open-source software is Firefox. (Walker, 2010) Often the OSS doesn't have all the features or some of the curriculum may be incompatible with OSS. (Trappler, 2009)

Integrating open source software into an existing network ("migrating") is costly. Existing hardware, such as servers and network infrastructure, often is not sufficient to support the new application, and the time and stress on users learning these new, typically unsupported, applications needs to be weighed along with the cost implications. (Open Options)

=Free May Not Be Absolute in ALL Situations=

How many times have you downloaded software or a software update? Did you really take the time to read the End-Users-License Agreement (EULA)? Do you really know what using the software involves? Believe it or not, there are legal requirements for freeware. Before you are able to download the software, you will be asked to agree to certain terms. Once you agree to those terms, you are committed to follow them. Do you even know what they say? Please remember these words from EducationWeekly.com: “Freeware is not in the public domain. Freeware is not in the public domain. Freeware is NOT in the public domain.” Freeware is covered by copyright laws, so be very careful when using such software; if there is any sort of profit involved, the rules for using the software change accordingly. If you are using freeware in your classroom, be sure to remember that you still do not own the software, so there are certain rules outlined in the EULA, and you are bound by those.

media type="custom" key="7648965" Video Created by G.C.Hutson.

References

 * 1) [|Pros and Cons of Using Free Software]- C. Stewart. 2005. Retrieved 11-22-10
 * 2) [|Free Software Downloads: Pros and Cons]. Roy D'Silva. Buzzle.com Retrieved 11-22-10
 * 3) Is There Such a Thing as Free Software? The Pros and Cons of Open-Source Software Is There Such a Thing as Free Software? The Pros and Cons of Open-Source Software T.J. Trappler. Educause Quarterly. 2009. Retrieved 11-23-10
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">20 Most Popular Open Source Software Ever Tom Walker. Tripwire Magazine. 03-10-10. Retrieved 11-23-10
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Freed, Dale. "Personal Interview." 11-23-10
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|Freeware - Benefits and problems of freeware]. G.C. Hutson. Retrieved on from networkbusinessoftware.org on 11-25-2010.
 * 7) ====<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|Copyright Law and New Technologies Part 3 of a Series on Copyright and Fair Use]. Retrieved from Education World on 11-25-2010. ====
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|Love free Web 2.0 sites? Then Pay for Them.] Steve Dembo. Teach42. Retrieved 11-26-10.
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">﻿﻿[|Open Options] - Retrieved 11-27-2010.