When I first wrote about MacAppADay, I wondered what the catch was. It didn’t take long to figure it out, however I still think it’s a brilliant idea.

So what’s the catch? Temporary licenses. The applications are free and you are free to use them, with all features, as long as you don’t upgrade. Some apps say you get free upgrades until the next major update. IE: 2.0-2.x but not 3.0. But then again, that’s pretty much normal. Others say you don’t get any updates. IE: “Please note that this license file is valid for version 2.0 of Overflow only. Version 2.1 will be a paid upgrade, should you choose to upgrade (you will not be forced to!).”

You didn’t really think it’s be completely free did you?

It’s actually a great deal. Demo versions always suck. There always seems to be something that limits you from really understanding if you like the application. With the temporary licenses, you get to try out the software and really figure out if it’s for your not. The idea is that you’ll like it so much, you’ll upgrade when the time comes, becoming a full fledged, paid customer.

Of course, if you choose to not upgrade, you can continue using the application for free, forever. If you think about it, you don’t really don’t need to upgrade each and every time. It’s not like the application is just going to stop working. You may be happy with the free version forever, who knows.

I’d also like to take this time to say thanks to those developers that have given out their applications. I’m enjoying DEVONnote and Overflow daily. Xslimmer is handy. YummyFTP rocks. Even though I already bought it I can now put it on a second machine. TuneX is cool, but a friend has been having major issues so I haven’t used it much. Crashes lot I guess, but then again, maybe it’s his configuration.

I’m excited every morning to go and see what’s new. I’ll be sad when December is over and my free shareware apps will go away. I guess it’ll be back to MacZot for that morning thrill or MacUpdate in search of good freeware.