FREE IN 2017!
Paid-for software we think will become FREE
We aren’t ones to look a gift horse in the mouth here at Computeractive, so whenever previously paidfor software becomes free, we’re usually chomping at the bit. And 2016 was a generous year in terms of programs losing their price tag (see our box opposite). The trend began in January with Whatsapp waiving its annual subscription, and continued all year. Lastpass made some of its features free in November.
So which programs, apps and services are likely to follow suit in 2017, and what is likely to happen with Windows 10? Will it remain at its current price or will Microsoft make it free again? Read on for our predictions. We’ll revisit them this time next year to see how many we got right. Dropbox Pro Dropbox was once the leading cloud-storage service, but now Google Drive and Microsoft’s Onedrive have muscled into the picture. How might Dropbox respond? Well I’d suggest by upgrading all users to Dropbox Pro (current cost: £79 a year or £7.99 a month). Giving users 1TB (1000GB) of data, which is Pro’s default, it could once more reclaim top spot and render Onedrive and Google Drive (with their measly 15GB of free space) all but redundant.
If Dropbox can’t bring itself to offer the full Pro package for free, more storage in the Basic account – which currently comes with a paltry 2GB – is the bare minimum it should consider.
Look out for our feature on getting the most from free cloud-storage services in our next issue – out Weds 18 January.
Microsoft Office
Could 2017 be the year when Office software is finally available for free? So far Microsoft hasn’t announced any plans to release a new version of Office (currently £120) in 2017, but don’t rule out the possibility of a cut-down, free version. From Microsoft’s perspective this might make sense. Not only would it maintain Office’s market dominance amid increasing competition from free alternatives such as Libreoffice, but it might also draw in paying customers who find they need tools above and beyond those in the free version. For me, Microsoft Office Free would have to be installable software. The only current, free version of Office is Office Online, but it’s too reliant on a fast and stable internet connection (which many people still don’t have).
Dragon Naturally Speaking Home Edition
Windows 10 offers plenty of options for voice-to-text tasks – basically, dictating something out loud that’s then transcribed into a Word document as text (see Issue 491, page 61 for setup instructions). That will put other voice-to-text programs under pressure to lose their price tags. I can see Dragon Home Edition ( www. snipca.com/22840) becoming free soon. Dragon, currently £80, not only lets you dictate documents, but also lets you speak commands to search the web and open programs.
Plex
I often wonder whether there’s anyone who actually pays for Plex because the free version works flawlessly. I use it to stream videos from my PC to my tablet,
my phone, my Playstation 4, my TV and to other PCS. Paying the extra £32 per year to get a ‘Plex Pass’ lets me download videos to watch offline and enjoy Dvd-like extras. But as I only watch videos that are already on my PC, I can move them to my tablet anyway. To keep the software attractive amid the hype surrounding the similar Kodi, Plex might make all these features available without a subscription charge.
Windows 10
One of the biggest unknowns of 2017 is Windows 10. Microsoft famously made its operating system free for the first 12 months, then slapped a £100 price tag on it in August 2016. Will Windows 10 revert to being free again in 2017? I’m going to go out on a limb and say… yes. Microsoft has plenty riding on Windows 10’s future success and needs more of us to take up its latest operating system and spend money in its app store.
And when might Windows 10 go gratis? I’d suggest to coincide with the upcoming Creators Update due in Spring. See Issue 491, page 58, for more information on what Microsoft is planning for your PC.
Free! What’s the catch?
PC users are justifiably cautious when it comes to downloading free software. Surely there’s a catch. In the worst-case scenario you might be inviting malware or worse on to your PC.
Comments from users on Instapaper’s blog post ( www.snipca.com/22837) announcing that its premium software was now free highlighted these suspicions: “What’s the catch? There’s always a catch,” and “Does that mean that development on Instapaper will slow to a crawl?” were typical responses.
Instapaper pointed out that the product has gone free because the company has built up sufficient customer numbers and income from alternative sources to maintain the software without people having to pay for it. This business model is becoming more popular among software developers, which is great news for all of us.