All About Freeware

Although it was once a commercial product, Borland’s Turbo C compiler/interpreter is currently available for free download - after a brief registration form is completed. It is useful for compiling C programs to use with DOS and older versions of Windows, although the install process is a bit complex. The download size is only about one megabyte.

Because TurboC was originally sold on three 3.5″ 720K disks, the ZIP file is split into three directories - one for each disk. The easiest way to install it is to copy these directories to three disks, then install it from the disks. The Borland Turbo C 2.01 interface works in Windows XP, although it lacks mouse support. When tested, it also functioned well on an 8 MHz 286 with DOS 3.3.

Turbo C is compatible with the WATTCP library, which makes it useful for creating communications/internet programs. However, software it compiles will not work in Windows XP or Vista if there are any graphics. Overall, it is a good freeware program for learning about C, creating text-based software, or producing graphical programs for older computers.

Here are some links to web pages where you can legally download various operating systems for free, with file sizes of under 60 megabytes each…

OpenGEM; mouse/window-based, runs under DOS (”Complete” version is 4.44 MB, includes several free applications and games). Download

Damn Small Linux (DSL); compact Linux distribution which works on many older computers and downloads relatively quickly. Download

DR-DOS (Digital Research) and OpenDOS; compatible with MS-DOS and fits on a floppy disk. Both are available on this page.

Some older Macintosh operating systems (like System 6.x, 7.x) are offered for free on the Apple web site, as well.

While commercial software products are typically designed to use recent operating systems and fit on a CD, freeware software development should be approached differently. Here are a couple of tips for programmers who create freeware applications or games…

1. Keep the disk space requirement low: People don’t want to wait hours to download a program, and some need to conserve hard disk space as well. It is amazing what sort of software can fit in under a few megabytes, if efficient programming techniques are applied. Think of the old Sierra graphical adventure games which were sold on a couple of 720k disks, with mouse/joystick support and multiple graphics modes.

2. Cater to older or less common operating systems: Sometimes development for a niche audience is more likely to attract users. For example, plenty of web browsers already exist for Windows XP, whereas there are only a few for DOS. More people will be interested in a new freeware browser for DOS, while the Windows XP browser would have to be especially remarkable for anyone to use it.

I recently tried out a free interpreter and compiler for the programming language C. It is called Pacific C and it runs in DOS or Windows. Programs created with it can be used at the Windows or DOS command prompt.

Pacific C version 7.51 has a text-based but colorful interface, fairly extensive documentation, and a number of sample programs. The download size is only about one megabyte; registration is required, but only a few brief questions have to be answered. Download Link

Overall, this freeware interpreter/compiler lacks some capabilities of newer compilers, but is relatively user friendly and has some useful extra features (like a built-in scientific calculator).

I installed the Opera 9.26 web browser on a Compaq computer with Windows 95 earlier this year, and was surprised at how well it performed. The computer, a Pentium III with 64MB RAM, had been using Internet Explorer 5.5, the most recent version of IE it could run.

Websites that previously took minutes to load now appear in less than 20 seconds, and Opera’s “Speed Dial” feature is convenient for visiting frequently-used sites. Aside from problems with editing eBay listings, it is compatible with more sites than Internet Explorer was.

Opera also has a useful built-in search function that saves time. Overall, I highly recommend using Opera 9.26 if you have an older Windows 95/98 computer which accesses the internet slowly; it may improve performance as much as paying for another upgrade.