freeware
<legal> Software, often written by enthusiasts and distributed at no
charge by users' groups, or via the World-Wide Web, electronic mail, bulletin
boards, Usenet, or other electronic media.
At one time, "freeware" was a trademark of Andrew Fluegelman. It wasn't enforced
after his death.
"Freeware" should not be confused with "free software" (roughly, software with
unrestricted redistribution) or "shareware" (software distributed without charge
for which users can pay voluntarily).
Jim Knopf's story.
[Jargon File]
(2003-07-26)
Nearby terms:
free software « Free Software Foundation « free
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freeware » freeze » Frege, Gottlob » frequency
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