All About Freeware

The past year saw several noteworthy developments in the field of free computer software. Here are some of the more significant events of 2008:

- The free Linux operating system gained more widespread implementation in 2008, perhaps with the help of Windows Vista’s poor performance. According to W3Schools.com, it was being used on about 3.6% of computers in January and 3.8% by December, reaching 3.9% during some months.

- Last summer Google announced its “Chrome” web browser, which has had to compete with several already established browsers like MSIE, Opera, AOL Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Since then, the browser’s “Beta” stage has come to an end and new versions were released.

- Major computer manufacturers have gotten more involved in creating and distributing free software, particularly IBM, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard. New computers with free software on them can be sold at a lower price than those with commercial applications installed.