Shareware

A concept devised by Jim Button and Andrew Fluegelman. Software producers offer potential users free copies of their software to try out, copy, give away to their friends, and if anybody likes it and wants to keep using it probably with the temptation of an improved or expanded version, they send a small (usually) fee to the author. This software is not an inferior product, you can obtain superb commercial quality software this way and some companies are committed to its use. If you continue to use shareware please send money to the author. This is the honest thing to do and the only way this backbone of the computer world will continue to exist.  Some commercial software companies offer a free trial of their products for a limited period after which the programs are disabled. Despite how it is described this is not shareware.