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Adware

These programs don't cost a penny. The developers support their programs by placing advertisements inside their programs. If you appreciate the work done by these dedicated authors, do them a favor and check out their sponsors. The majority of adware authors have advertisement-free versions of their software available for a small fee. The ads serve as a revenue source for the author, which allows them to stretch their program and update more frequently.

BSD

BSD, originally an acronym for Berkeley Software Distribution, refers to the particular version of the UNIX operating system that was developed at and distributed from the University of California at Berkeley. "BSD" is customarily preceded by a number indicating the particular distribution level of the BSD system -- for example, "4.3 BSD". BSD UNIX has been popular, and many commercial implementations of UNIX systems are based on or include some BSD code.

Buy Only

While the overwhelming majority of Tucows titles are shareware products that adhere to our try-before-you-buy philosophy, a handful of applications are available for use only after they are purchased.

Commercial Demo

It is a demonstrational copy released by the manufacturer to entice customers to buy their product. A commercial demo will usually only work for a short period of time. It is usually already tested for bugs and is very similar to the full version of the product. A commercial demo might have certain functions that are disabled or inaccessible.

Demo

Demoware is limited evaluation software that has some of its features disabled. This software usually allows the use of a fair number of features in order to entice a user to purchase the full product.

Freeware

Freeware is... free, just as you'd imagine it! The software was developed just for the sake of providing you, the end user, with a cool new application. If you really like the program, you might take a moment to send the author a thank you note, but there are no strings attached to these programs.

GPL: GNU Public License

GPL stands for GNU Public License. Software released under this license is intended to be "free" software. It is free in a free speech sense. The programs themselves are not free. Essentially, you get the source code and binaries.

LGPL

This refers to the GNU Lesser General Public License. The licenses for most software are designed to take away your freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public Licenses are intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software--to make sure the software is free for all its users. http://www.opensource.org/licenses/lgpl-license.php

Monthly fee

Rather than expiring after a set period of time after the program is registered, this type of application requires payment for usage on a month-to-month basis.

Open Source

This is a method and philosophy of software licensing and distribution, designed to encourage the use and improvement of software written by volunteers. The goal of this system is to ensure that anyone can copy the source code and modify it freely.

Postcardware

Postcardware is a kind of freeware that requires only that the user send the software author a postcard as payment. This shows the software provider that someone is actually using the software and lets the user thank the provider personally. The postage stamp also indicates where in the world the software is being used.

See Home Page

License information for this type of product is either complex or subject to change. To view current, accurate pricing for applications with "See home page" license types, click the "Home page" link on the product description page.

Shareware

This is fully functional software that you can download, try and decide whether or not it's right for you. If you like it, you pay a nominal fee to continue using the application after the allotted trial period expires.

Subscription

This is a purchase made by signed order, as for a periodical, for a specified period of time or for a series of performances. In this context, it refers to an agreement to receive or be given access to electronic texts or services, especially over the Internet.

Download Popularity

The User Popularity rating is a score based on the number of total downloads a program receives within a given category.

If a program is the most popular in its category, it scores a User Popularity rating of 100. User Popularity ratings decrease proportionately as the number of downloads a program receives goes down.

Newly Added

In order to prevent a negative impact caused by modest download numbers for newly added software, Download Popularity is not assigned until two weeks after a title is added to the Tucows software library.

Web Service

A Web service is a Web site that provides a service to users. There may or may not be fees associated with these services.

X Consortium

This is a vendor consortium supporting development, evolution and maintenance of the X Window System. The X Consortium is an independent, not-for-profit company. It was formed in 1993 as the successor to the MIT X Consortium, a research group of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science. http://burks.bton.ac.uk/burks/foldoc/27/129.html