Quote:
Originally Posted by dmikov
As for the topic at hand, free is a reality. I wouldn't have thought to see free software, but here it is. And legal or not you CAN find most of the books, movies and music for free. That's the reality. You will not see $400 spreadsheet software or word processor anymore.
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That's an interesting point, and one where I think you can see the consequences in one area of the market at least. Compare the number and quality of paid apps for the iPhone with the same in the 'free market'. Compare with the Google Android Market and things get even worse. Apple have found a new way to make a paid market work with modern technology - and look what benefits it has brought.
In that area at least I feel it's clear that 'paid creativity' trounces 'free creativity'. It also shows how much 'freedom' can actually limit your choices. If the same applied to music and writing (and why wouldn't it?) we'd see quite a chilling effect on creative works.