International Shareware Day

International Shareware Day is observed annually on the second Saturday of December.

It honors the shareware model, which let users try full programs for free before buying. This built trust between developers and users.

The idea launched many independent careers and delivered popular software like PKZIP, WinZip, the first episode of Doom, and McAfee antivirus to millions of computers.

People got these programs through BBSes, floppy disks, and early internet downloads.

Today, the day keeps the “try-before-you-buy” spirit alive.

It encourages people to explore trial software, support independent creators, and celebrate an important part of personal-computing history.
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