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$0.00 is a price like any other. A free service is a special case of the loss leader. How far do you extend this extra scrutiny?
by mulmen 4y ago
$0.00 is a price like any other. A free service is a special case of the loss leader. How far do you extend this extra scrutiny?
- brookst 4y agoMaybe Linux should be illegal? It’s such an odd position. Like, the age old razors / razor blades model should be illegal? Video game consoles / video games? Subsidizing an initial purchase by charging for ongoing services is so core to our economy that I’m not sure what it would look like to prohibit it.
- di456 4y agoLinux isn't a service
- ehutch79 4y agoSure it is, just like docker, the code might be free , but there’s plenty of enterprise support contracts. I imagine a lawyer could convince a jury of people who have never heard of hacker news, gnu, etc that this is true.
- di456 4y agoFree enterprise support contracts?
- ehutch79 4y agoNo, the thread stems from above where it's basically indicated that free things should be illegal if there's things being sold off the back of it. The precedent things like this would create could easily be extended to other things. Good lawyers could hold things the OP isn't think about to this standard. Especially if theres a jury uninformed about the topic at hand.
- paulryanrogers 4y agoSo not a service, rather software surrounded by unaffiliated services? This post is about the official service part of Docker. To my knowledge there is no official Linux service.
- brookst 4y agoDo you get new versions on physical media?
- paulryanrogers 4y agoNo, I get them from unaffiliated hosting, like package managers or SCM.
- ehutch79 4y agoRead what I said again. It's not about what you know or not. This kind of precedent could easily be applied to things it shouldn't be, or rather things you don't think it should be. try explaining all this to someone uninterested or uninformed about technology. A cubicle worker or something.
- paulryanrogers 4y agoYou cannot fork a service. Linux can be forked because it is software. All the effort that surrounds it may be considered a service (often paid, sometimes subsidized). But that's distinct. People understand very well the product vs service distinction. They notice every time they check their credit card statement.
- brookst 4y agoThat will be a surprise to all of the people investing lots of time giving you continuous updates and improvements.
- di456 4y agoA couple ideas: Anti-dumping laws for well capitalized companies engaging in anti-competitive behavior sales tax based on the cost of services