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> Every industry seems to have gone through a similar cycle where the free has been a threat to the commercial products. This is hilariously out of touch. Soft
by qubex 3y ago
> Every industry seems to have gone through a similar cycle where the free has been a threat to the commercial products.
This is hilariously out of touch. Software is one of the very few industries where marginal costs of production are essentially zero. Almost everything else besides oft-derided ‘content’ requires the expenditure of variable costs (materials, energy, labour) to produce. It’s well-known that in the limit of a perfect competition environment (think scissors, white t-shirts, socks, pencils, plate glass, & cetera) sales price is driven down towards the marginal cost (variable costs) of the most efficient producer, eliminating profit.
Very few other categories of things have seen their sales prices be driven towards actual zero. In fact I’m hard-pressed to think of any.
- akdor1154 3y ago> In fact I’m hard-pressed to think of any. Maybe music and video entertainment as a counter example? Agree with everything you said though.
- qubex 3y agoThose were the “much derided ‘content’” I mentioned.
- sparrowInHand 3y agoThats the whole china buisness model? No IP costs, subsidize production to market dominance, repeat. Which again the VCs copy by subsidizing that take-over money with shareholder money Free is a temporary attack vector, but with open source its a permanent attack vector.
- qubex 3y agoWhat you’re described is just the logic behind patents eventually expiring.
- sparrowInHand 3y agoSo open source for VC take-over endavours functions like a tax. Eventually the money for bribery/free_stuff runs out, the old buisness patterns return, open source reconquers the niche. Nature is healing..
- qubex 3y agoUhm… I suppose you’re misinformed or undetectably trying to be funny.