Open Source and Freeware software
Open Source software is growing in popularity and it's not surprising why. Much of it is as good if not better than commercial code and, of course, it's free.
The difference between Open Source and Freeware is small but important - with open source the un compiled source code is available to anyone who wants it and they can study it, add to it and then compile their own executable code from it.
Freeware is, as the name suggests, free, but the source code is not available so you can not change it nor look 'inside' the 'black box' of the executable code.
Often this doesn't matter to most end users but in some situations - say with encryption software, it's reassuring to know what is going on 'under the hood' - and that there are no 'back doors'
The links from this page lead to some of our favourite Open Source and Freeware programs - and remember, the best place to find the latest Open Source software is always at http://sourceforge.net/