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> It’s not the bundling that’s the problem, it’s dropping prices of a single product in a single market to destroy competition in that space while staying afloa
by Dracophoenix 4y ago
> It’s not the bundling that’s the problem, it’s dropping prices of a single product in a single market to destroy competition in that space while staying afloat with VC or other revenue streams/products.
The same could be said of open-source software. Most open-source software are clones of commercial products, supported by free labor, and provided at $0. The most successful ones undermine their commercial counterpart and may go so far as to destroy a previously commercially-viable industry.
As an example, do you think Linux should be regulated out of existence because its provided at a unsustainably low cost with respect to the competition? If Linux didn't exist, commercial Unix could still be a competitive market. Linux's expansion has also resulted in the deterioration of the consumer OS market, where there had previously been AmigaOS, AtariTOS, VMS, Solaris, BeOS, etc. Linux is also backed by a cartel of commercial supporters that influence what gets added, what gets supported, and what gets kept out. Obviously, these decisions affect what hardware and software consumers would consider purchasing/supporting.
- llbeansandrice 4y agoYou’re right that these OS projects can and do destroy the competitive market for their space, but critically they are both free (as in beer and often as in freedom as well) and open. Their reason for being free is not for market capture to destroy competition and then drive up prices. Amazon bundling a service and providing it at reduced cost to capture the market is neither free nor is it open.