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Free software stands in opposition to free data. When software is free data becomes the center of value and therefore is hoarded.
by melange 13y ago
Free software stands in opposition to free data. When software is free data becomes the center of value and therefore is hoarded.
- eevilspock 13y agoI think you're confusing free software (e.g. Linux) with ad-supported software and services (e.g. Google). That Google or any other ad-supported product is free is utter bullshit. There is no free lunch. Advertising simply shifts the cost of the "fee lunch" to the price of the advertised products. But with advertising, it's actually much more expensive: Cost of thing itself + Cost of advertising overhead + Opportunity cost of inferior product + Cost of our identities and privacy (as bought and sold to the highest bidders) + Social cost of advertising To me the last item is the most expensive of all.
- melange 13y agoI'm not confusing anything, although I agree with you about Google. The point is that if source code is always available the value of software goes to zero, and the only value is in information. This leads to the existence of companies like Google, who rely on the data they hoard to make money. It also accounts for the "do consulting" explanation for how to make money out of free software.