I don't say that it wasn't worth it. I say that it was an additional barrier to entry which got more significant the later we are in the 90s. That it was free

I don't say that it wasn't worth it. I say that it was an additional barrier to entry which got more significant the later we are in the 90s. That it was free was a significant boost for the popularity of Java (probably also the free JVM from Microsoft was a significant contributor). In the early 80s you always had a programming language for free with your computer and often, those manuals were not bad either as that was seen as an additional selling point for the hardware and that's why the hardware producers did it.