Trialware is a pain. Once you install it, its self-destruct sequence begins. If you don't have time to give trial software a thorough workout before it goes poof, it's unlikely that you'll come away from the experience impressed with that application. Vendors are getting the message. Several of the InfoWorld Test Center's recent reviews focus on software that vendors offer to customers for free, forever, but wi Trialware is a pain. Once you install it, its self-destruct sequence begins. If you don’t have time to give trial software a thorough workout before it goes poof, it’s unlikely that you’ll come away from the experience impressed with that application. Vendors are getting the message. Several of the InfoWorld Test Center’s recent reviews focus on software that vendors offer to customers for free, forever, but with deployment limited to non-commercial use or a small number of users. What brought this to mind is my recent discussions with CommuniGate Systems, which offers a community edition of its Communigate Pro unified messaging server. Its Flash-based Pronto! client is remarkable, and it’s free as well. InfoWorld contributing editor Randall C. Kennedy wrote up three streaming application virtualization solutions, two of which are free to those who meet the criteria. Symantec’s SVS Pro 2.1 is free for non-commercial use, while Microsoft’s Softgrid 4.2 is free if you’re enrolled in the vendor’s Software Assurance Program. Softgrid is also available to Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. This strains the definition of “free” a little, but IT likely meets one criteria or the other. Mike Heck’s roundup of content management systems has a dandy punchline: They’re all free, they’re all open source and all of them rate 8.3 or better on InfoWorld Test Center’s 10 point scale. Lastly, I’ve been swimming in the deep end of OpenSolaris 10, a real UNIX with commercial development tools (Sun Studio 12). These are free with no strings attached. Installation and use aren’t exactly a walk in the park, but it’s stable and supported, definitely not the Solaris you remember. Technology Industry