Shareware/freeware Issues (JAS, Mesa, ghostview, perl, html)
How mature is the product?
- Recent releases are extensions/enhancements, not bug fixes
- Mailing Lists
- Full-bodied FAQ
- Reasonably paced & useful updates
Does it have wide user base (by itself, or part of big project)?
Has it been kept up to make use of recent improvements?
Can it make optimal use of environment easily?