Be prepared, though. Most software files are compressed so they can be downloaded more quickly. That means you need to make sure you have an application that can decompress those other applications. Most of it is, but not all of it. You can probably download all the text, images, sound and video that you want, free of charge.
Software is another story.
Freeware, as you no doubt guessed, is free. With shareware, you have to pay the author if you use the program. You can be confident that the people who make the software available will let you know if any money is expected to change hands. But what you do with it after you've downloaded it is another question. Governments around the world are wrestling with a host of legal issues involving the Internet and the World Wide Web.