The world is run by money ...

Let's be honest. The world is run by cold, hard cash. People need to eat - even software developers.

Oh sure - there are free alternatives to almost everything. Just like commercial applications, some of them are extraordinary pieces of work. Many of them are crap. Then you have everything in between; half finished, weekend sponsored, part time projects written by one or two people when they aren't working their real jobs. Don't get me wrong; I have NO PROBLEM with free software. But, there are advantages to paying for software.

First, you have a voice. Your money speaks volumes to software companies. If you aren't happy, they ain't getting your upgrade revenue dollars. They are going to tie up your tech support lines and email accounts (most freebie products have message forums for tech support at best). People also blab more about bad commercial products than they do about free software that pisses them off.

I'm a big believer in paying for software that 1) makes me money or 2) I use it constantly, 24/7. If its THAT GOOD or THAT USEFUL, someone deserves to be compensated. But that's just me.

Fact of the matter is; honest work deserves an honest buck.

Now, whether you believe that open source will empower the world or if you're like me that believe in supporting someone's development time - you MUST feel you're getting value for your compensation (which takes many forms; money is just one of them). If you feel you've wasted time or money (or hair) to an application, then you got taken - no matter how you slice it.

I believe that Directory Opus is one of those products that deserves to be paid for. And over the course of this review, hopefully you will see why.

I was a huge cheerleader for the original Directory Opus on the Amiga platform. I was a staunch supporter of Directory Opus 6 when it came out for the PC. Since version 8 is version 6 on steroids, let's take a look back at Directory Opus 6 ...