What does it do?

• Be informed

To be informed you'll have to read reviews and ask people for their personal recommendations. Keep in mind that what others are looking for in a program may not be the same as what you need. So get the details. It takes some time but can keep you from very unhappy surprises. 

• Read the box.

• Try it out

  • Try to find someone who already has the program and practice with it. Just a few minutes of actually working with the program, especially with someone there who already knows their way around it, can enlighten you immensely.
  • Some stores have computers on display with software installed for you to experiment with.
  • Perhaps your school or office already has the software on some computer around.
     
  • Shareware: One of the better marketing ideas of modern times is the concept of shareware. The basic idea is to let you Try It Before You Buy It!
    
    • Standard Shareware - You get a program on disk or by downloading from the Internet. You might buy a CD with hundreds of shareware programs on it. You are given permission to run the program X number of times or for Y number of days. After that you are supposed to pay the registration fee. These fees range from $5 to over $100 depending on the complexity of the program and what the author decides to charge. Often the costs are similar or slightly less than a comparable program that is sold straight out through stores and catalogs.
       
      You install and run the program. Each time you run the program you will get a nag screen which reminds you of how much longer you can run the program before you are obligated to pay for it.
       
      Some shareware will never quit working even though you never pay for it. The author is truly relying on your honesty. Other programs will turn themselves off, either completely cease working or else the most desirable features quit working.
       
      
    • Crippleware - In this case the shareware version of the program is crippled by disabling the more advanced or desirable features. This is intended to introduce you to the program and to whet your appetite for the better version. Often, if you pay the fee, you will get a code which will un-cripple the program, with no need for new disks.
       
      
    • Freeware - There is no charge ever for freeware. You can use it as much as you like. Sometimes the author will mention that cash, check, or money orders are welcomed but not demanded. If you can find a freeware program that does what you need, why spend big money??
       
      
    • Liteware - A free version of the program is made that leaves out features that would make it more attractive to frequent or heavy users. For example, an HTML editor might have a Find and Replace feature. In the liteware version it would work for only one page at a time. In the full version you could apply Find and Replace to a whole project or a folder and its subfolders. So for infrequent users the lite version is just fine. For folks who manage web sites of 200 pages, the full version has a serious advantage - well worth some money.
       
      

• Buy from a place that has a Money Back Guarantee unless 100% Satisfied

Yes, there are such places. Some of the large computer retail stores will allow you to return even OPENED software within a short time for cash back, and after that time for a store credit. Be careful. It is much more common for stores to refuse to accept software that has been opened.

Some companies that sell directly to customers will also accepted back opened software, as will some mail-order catalogs. Read their policies very carefully before sending in your order.

What hardware?

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS IBM PC or 100% compatible Windows 95 (This product will NOT run under DOS or Win 3.x) Intel 80386 DX or higher 4 MB RAM required (8 MB recommended) 6 MB hard disk required

Computer type	Does it require an IBM-type PC or a MAC or something quite different? Software for one may well not run on the others.
OS	What operating system will it work with? DOS or Windows XP or Windows Vista or Linux or UNIX or what??
Processor	What processor? A 386, 486, Pentium IV? Single, dual, or quad? Intel makes the big majority of PC computer chips, but AMD and Cyrix, to name two others, also make computer chips. For PC's this is not generally a problem. So if the requirement calls for an "Intel" chip, there are other brands that also will work. But some of the network computers use chips that will NOT work for Intel-designed products.   This line might also include a processor speed, like 700 MHz or 2.0 GHz. This is a minimum speed for satisfactory program speed. A faster processor will normally be better. However, you might not be able to play older games with the newer, faster chips if the screen changes too fast for you to see it!
RAM	The amount of memory required by a program is usually given as a "required" amount and a "recommended" amount. If you only have the "required" amount, you may be unhappy with the performance of the program. It may be quite slow. The "recommended" amount is actually the amount that gives the speed most people will be satisfied with. But that does assume that you are not trying to run a number of programs at the same time. This increases the memory requirement a lot.
Hard disk space	Few programs can fit on a floppy anymore, so you'll have to install the program to your hard disk. The amount of space stated in this requirement is what the program will take up after it is first installed. You'll need space for the documents you create also. Only you can predict how much space you might need for those.   The installation process takes more space usually than the final installed program does. So if you think there is enough room to install a program, but the program says there is not, this may be why.
Devices	Specific devices or capabilities may be required, like a mouse, CD or DVD drive, certain speed for the CD/DVD, sound card and speakers, VGA or higher graphics, 256 colors, 3D video accelerator card, graphics tablet... The list of available devices gets longer every year.

Software vendors want to sell a lot of their programs, so they often understate the hardware requirements. If your system just barely meets the stated requirements, you may be just barely satisfied with the program's performance, too. But, what one person finds intolerably slow, another finds a comfortable speed. So your own preferences and expectations play a big role in how happy you are with your software.

What other software?

Does this program stand alone or does it need other software to go with it? Some programs are add-ons or enhancements for others or allow other programs to communicate with each other.
 
For example, there are a number of programs that add functions to Adobe Photoshop, which is a high-end graphics program. You must have Photoshop already to have any real need for the add-on programs.
 
Another example, for games like Doom, Warcraft, and Tie Fighter you can buy expansion packs - programs that give you new battles, new ships, new weapons, new characters, etc. But you have to have the original game first. The add-on may cost about as much as the original.
 
Is this an upgrade to an existing program? Do you have to have the old version already? Be sure to get the right version as there may be both stand-alone and upgrade versions out there in VERY similar boxes on the same shelf.

Compatibility

Do you need to match software already used by your business, school, or friends?

We bought our first computer so my husband could run insurance software to produce proposals for his clients. The software was only available for PCs. We did not have the choice of using a Mac.

If you share your work with others or bring documents to work from home, you'll need to have the same software. It is sad but true that converting documents is still not error-free. My sister writes children's songs and stories for a publishing house. The artists had Macintosh computers while the writers and accounts department used PCs. Rather than standardize everyone on PCs, to save money the bosses got software that came in both a PC and a Mac version. But when files were shared, there were subtle but important differences. The words and pictures just did not line up same under the two different versions of the same software.

~~  1 Cor. 10:31 ...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  ~~

Last updated: 19 Jun 2009