Free can't possibly be any good, can it?

Many people believe that free software can't possibly be any good. If we were talking about almost any other type of product I would probably agree. But in the case of software, I find that free software is often better than equivalent market products.

How can that be? The best free software is by necessity "less" than it's for-sale brethren. In most markets, this might be considered a negative but efficient focused software is a real advantage. Very few programs that try to be comprehensive packages are superior in all aspects. So you end up tied to software with significant weakness that you've paid for.

Take a Windows anti-virus program for example. Companies like Avast, Avira and AVG offer a simple and effective protection program free. If you buy it's for sale version, you get what appears to be a very big, comprehensive program with many added features that does much more. But with a little research (by listening to my show and reading my recommendations on my website), you can build a better protection suite free, by using the best products in each category. You also get the flexibility to change individual components should you find a better program, or if an update to one component gives you trouble.

You might say that the effort and complexity isn't worth it. That a single vendors suite would be more efficient and work more reliably. Not so. Many are bloated, ill behaved and weak in a significant areas of protection or compatibility.

So take advantage of the fine free software I recommend. It's not often you get great products free, and it may not last forever, particularly in this economy.