The /value/ of "discrete software" has always been close to zero. Just a few megabytes of disk space. The value of software creation is something else, though,

The /value/ of "discrete software" has always been close to zero. Just a few megabytes of disk space. The value of software creation is something else, though, and ages ago the one was tied directly to the other. But even that wasn't truly the case. Shareware gave away part of the software for free, and relied on goodwill from the users for them to pay for the rest rather than sharing the full versions. As you've pointed out, continuous services are another area where money can be made, but then the software isn't the value proposition, just the enabler of those services.