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It's worth noting that Stallman wanted $150 (in 1987 dollars, so over $400 today) for a tape containing a copy of GCC, clearly showing the difference between "f
by userbinator 3y ago
It's worth noting that Stallman wanted $150 (in 1987 dollars, so over $400 today) for a tape containing a copy of GCC, clearly showing the difference between "free as in speech" and "free as in beer".
- Narishma 3y agoHow much did a tape cost?
- adrian_b 3y agoIt was free as in beer to download through ftp. The money for the tape presumably covered the cost of the tape and of access to a computer and a tape drive and the time spent by someone to write the tape and handle packing and shipping, with a small markup.
- Tor3 3y agoFrom the GPL 2.1 licence: "You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy,.." That ($400 in today's value) isn't an unfair price for doing all the work necessary to ship out a tape. It's actually quite cheap. If I were to do that, using the tapes we had back then, I would charge more (I would have to take time from my working hours to go through that process).