By Mike Musgrove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 22, 1998; Page H5

Considering that software is one of the most popular items to purchase over the Internet, it's surprising that no online software store has won the sort of name recognition of Amazon.com or CDnow. What's more, it may be too late for newcomers to make their marks, now that Amazon has announced that it will start selling software this season, in addition to its current fare of books and CDs.

Why haven't any online software shops managed to cross over into mainstream acceptance by now? Here's a theory: Because, while most online software sites do an adequate job of keeping hot new titles in stock, these sites generally don't do much more than that. If you're looking for help finding an obscure favorite from last year, say, you're probably out of luck.

If you're shopping for someone who loves to play computer games, trying to second-guess a good game for them can be a scary process. If the PC user in your life has a brand-new machine, chances are his or her computer will run any piece of software you throw at it. But if your loved one's computer is more than a year old, you should find out what sort of processor it has before ordering any new games. This brings up another problem with buying software online: Many sites don't supply a complete list of the system requirements on the software they peddle.

On the other hand, if the nerd in your family uses a Macintosh computer, shopping for software online is, without a doubt, the easiest and quickest way to go. The new iMac from Apple Computer Inc. has spurred a flurry of new applications for the Mac operating system. OS, certainly, but finding a particular Mac title on a store shelf can still turn into a headache.

None of these sites will wrap your presents for you. On the contrary, some would just as soon have you download some programs directly from the Web and avoid plastic jewel boxes and dead-tree instruction manuals altogether. Even for veteran Web surfers, downloading a gift program for somebody and stashing it on their hard drive just doesn't seem to have quite the same holiday spirit as wrapping it up with a bow – even if it does save the recipient the trouble of having to install a program.