Rich asks us about Ninite.com
First thanks for all your help and FREE advice over the many years I have had you as my start page and InfoAve Premium. I discovered this site ( http://ninite.com/ ) and wanted to know what you think of it. It looks like it could be a time saving site for all (or a lot) of the FREE programs you have recommended (and I use). If you feel it is useful for all the wonderful people that support you, perhaps it could be recommended by you. Rich
Our answer
Hi Rich. Thanks for your support and nice comments. We took a look at the site, and while we can see why it looks useful, we weren’t overly impressed. The privacy policy is short and to the point, so we have no problems with that. Some of the programs they list we’re not familiar with, and unless you’re familiar with a program you shouldn’t download it. We see no visible means of support either. They say that they insert their affiliate code when you install the programs – if you upgrade. But most of these programs are free. We don’t see any way this site can support itself on affiliate commission from mostly free programs. We know from experience that only a small number of people will upgrade a functional free version of a program for a more functional paid version of a program. It doesn’t look a like a good money-making model to us. So you have to wonder what’s going to happen down the road when all those people who downloaded programs from this site – all with affiliate tags in them – don’t upgrade. Are they simply going to close up shop, or are they going to find other means to stay afloat.
Also, does this site have the latest versions of these programs available? We don’t know. They don’t say. I guess you’d have to download them and find out.
The best way to download Firefox, Chrome, or any other freeware is to go to its home page. Not only will you get the programs sans anyone’s affiliate links, you can also learn more about the program, and find out what the latest version is.
We don’t see any advantage of this warehouse for freeware (?). There isn’t any information about each program listed or any guarantees that the program version you’re downloading is the most recent version. We think it’s best, when downloading freeware, to take a couple extra minutes and visit the home page of the freeware program in which you’re interested. You’ll get more information and you’ll always be sure you’re getting the latest version – and you’ll be sure you’re getting the real deal without the potential of affiliate tracking codes being embedded in the software.
