'Ello Thomas, On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:41:05 +0700 (your time) you said:
S>> "Let people..." is a curious turn of phrase. Interesting, capitalism S>> masquerading as an ideology. > It is the same philosophy with which people say that everything on the > internet should be free. I don't see how that can be the same. > Heck, they want all software to be free and will not pay any money, for > example, for an email client. I think that is a vast oversimplification....and not just necessarily so! A distinction was made very early on between commercial, shareware, freeware, donationware, cardware...blah-ware software. This was necessary because not every software author sat down at their computer to spend inordinate amounts of time tapping away at their keyboards simply because they saw the potential financial rewards ahead. Aside the above, you have everyone from Ahab who is 10, to Desidimona who is 80, with access to a computer, and they, and everyone else, want various softwares to run on their computers, otherwise computers would be useless. The term 'software' obviously covers a huge spectrum, such as Operating Systems, web browsers, email clients, bitmap editors, graph paper printers, automation software, media players, PDF viewers, privacy software, (continue on ad infinitum) etc. Just count the number of programs sitting on your computer and then calculate the cost if every single one of those was a piece of commercial software, with regular, almost yearly pay-for updates, and you realise just how ludicrous this model is. It's a nonsense. "They" don't want all software to be free because "they" are evil, "they" haven't just got deep enough pockets to pay for every bit of software and every update. Even within the so-called developed wealthier countries you have incredibly unequal distribution of wealth, with most of the wealth belonging to the top 7% to 12% of the population. A lot of people within these same countries live on or below subsistence levels, and then you look across the globe to other countries that are even worse off and you see that the 'you-must-pay-for-everything' model of software distrubition is just madness. It does't work, it cannot work. A few hundred pieces of software on one PC is really not an uncommon figure for many people, now calculate a total purchase price, and they a yearly fee to keep every one up to date. Far too many people don't even earn those sort of amounts each month (or even much longer) so my heart does not immediately bleed for software authors who are looking to get rich out of volume distribution and then getting angry at the bad people for not wanting to play....instead of accepting that the whole model is flawed and perhaps the whole idea needs rethinking. S>> I'll remember to tell the altruist that gives up their free time and S>> money that they should desist with their beneficent activities because S>> they should be paid for their troubles, because they are the rules, and S>> fairness demands it. > Exactly. You will not believe how many heated arguments we had, I think > the 90s were the time when users just demanded to get all software and > even online time for free. They thought they had a right to be provided > with free services and software. Again, an oversimplifcation. At those times 'Free' didn't actually mean 'free'. 'Free' hasn't meant gratis for a very long time. The tenner-a-month ISPs in the UK back then (the 90's) advertised their services as unlimited free access for only £10 per month :-/ People were jumping onboard because their telecoms companies were exploiting this new source of revenue from Interent access and phone bills had soared out of control. People were finding themselves with bills for hundreds of pounds a month just for connecting to the Internet to collect email and chat. When there is limited access to a money pot (which is all of the time IOW) 'people' will naturally and fairly be looking for cheaper, if not gratis, solutions for most things, and quite rightly. I support them in their efforts 100%. And it is nothing to do with valuing the efforts of others...not in the slightest. Just because you decide to create something doesn't automatically give you the right to have an income gain from it. Blimey, all the great art in the world, and all the musical masterpieces written, would never have been created if that was the way it really worked! -- Simon (Privateofcourse) #21639. I Sow Grew No Edh? ¶ Auxiliary Information: • The Bat! Pro 4.2.9.1 • Windows XP Pro 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 • Scanned by avast! Plugin 4.8.1335 DB 090726-1 (26.07.2009) ________________________________________________ Current version is 4.2.9.1 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
