Before the internet, most of the computer stuff I used regularly was crap and cost me money to use.
How is it that nowadays companies are quoted as being worth billions, and yet I still haven’t spent a dime?
I zip/unzip files using Winzip, I surf with IE, Netscape, Mozilla or whatever, I send/retrieve my email the same, I make web pages with freeware, I host a web cam site entirely free of charge, I FTP to my hearts content thanks to Cuteftp, and the SDMB costs me zip.
I pay NTL an absurdly small fee for making it all possible. Are NTL the only winners in this mad merry go round, or do I need a 101 in economics?
How is it that your name is legion and yet you act so differently from the overwhelmingly huge majority of computer users, who don’t use all free stuff but go to stores (b&m and online) and pay for it?
Do you really not see that workplaces use huge numbers of all computer items? Don’t you see the great mass of ordinary people who are not computer buffs who would rather buy brand names and known products?
Does anyone actually get money from ads nowadays? I’ve learned to completely ignore ads and I’ve heard how basically the whole internet ad industry is heavily inflated. It’d make sense. Ads are barely worth a fraction of what they used to be.
I assume ads are a main revenue source and can explain most of the search engines, email accounts and probably webpages. i dont know beyond that though how they’d make any money.
Exapno Mapcase pretty much nailed it. Ever gone into a computer store and see all those morons paying hundreds of dollars for software they could otherwise get for free*? Ever been the resident computer guru and have to go to someone’s house to fix their computer and see the shelves filled with expensive software they probably don’t know how to use, books they’ve never read, ISP contracts they don’t need…?
(*And no, I’m not necessarily talking piracy here, either.)
Another thing to consider is the entire Internet community acting as a whole.
One free website might have what you want and (if you have your own site) it might contain what someone else wants.
I have a website that is free to use - www.1728.com and there are plenty of other free websites out there. www.timeanddate.com has time for any location on Earth and calendars for every possible date. (the site has minimal advertising).
There are many free graphics websites on the Internet.
I’ve learned a lot about JavaScript and HTML from many free Internet tutorial sites.
MSPaint comes with every version of Windows so why not use it? I sure do. Oh it’s not the fanciest graphics program but can be used for most purposes.
Isn’t the SDMB a great free resource too? (Again, the advertising here is minimal).
The IMDB (which seems to be getting more “ad heavy” as time goes by) is still a great resource for looking up any movie.
My point being, the 'Net as a whole is a fantastic information resource composed of people each sharing whatever skills they have. Maybe it is my 1960’s mentality working here but the 'Net is a fantastic concept roughly akin to the “barnraising” activity of our great great grandparents. (Okay, I’m a city kid - maybe barnraisings are still done even in this day and age).
And how about Linux? Wasn’t that created and developed (and constantly updated) by a large number of people on the Internet?
Yes, I know there are some people who are “making a buck” from all this (the ISP’s, computer manufacturers, Bill Gates, etc). Still, I think what individuals do for free on the Internet makes it a very interesting place.
WinRAR/WinZip for zipping and unzipping files (both technically shareware though…)
Winamp for music playback
Zone Alarm for a firewall
IE/Netscape/Opera for browsing
Notepad and XP’s built in FTP for web authoring
And a load of other freeware to be found on the net.
The only thing I would be willing to shell out money for is a decent graphics editing program. Paint Shop Pro gives you the features of Photo Shop for a lot less, but it’s hard to find a substitute for Illustrator.
Oh, and a copy of Mathematica 5…but hm, I don’t have $1880 dollars to throw around.
Nice list, gregonie. The only thing I would add is Firefox as a browser, and for image editing program - The GIMP has a lot of features and is open source.
One thing about barnraisings…people were expected to reciprocate. If you were the recipient of a barnraising, you were expected to feed the horde who showed up, probably putting them up for the duration as well, and you were expected to pitch in on other barnraisings. Barnraisings, quilting bees, and the like were NOT just expressions of goodwill. They were partly social gatherings, but they had rather strict expectations of repayment in kind. Most internet users do NOT provide a lot of quality content in exchange for the information that they gather. Because of this, I predict that a lot of the content that is currently free will eventually start charging a fee of some sort.
Thing is, although there is a lot of great and free software you can get out there, sometimes you just have to pay for if you want the best.
Many freeware versions are deliberately restricted in functionality. If you want to do further neat things, you have to pay. It all seems like an ideal way of doing business. The software that I find that proves it does the job, and well, I will seriously consider buying the full version of. I’ve purchased lots of software that way. I would urge everyone to do the same. If you want more good software; you’ve got to reward those who write it. And those who don’t want money deserve recognition.
And I’m happy to say I have reciprocated in my time. There is software out there with my name on it, free for all who wish it.
I disagree. With barnraising, it cost each of the helpers a day or two of their time. If there are 2-3 barnraisings a month, the time adds up quickly and their own chores might suffer. Each of the helpers expects to be paid back with a couple of days of everyone else’s time.
But, with web pages, one single person can help an unlimited number of people for an unlimited amount of time with minimal effort. Heck, I still get emails from people reading web pages that I created 9 years ago and haven’t maintained in the last 5 years.
In the web world, as long as 1% (my estimate) of the users are willing to contribute free information, everybody wins. It’s like this message board. Probably no more than 1% of the users contribute regularly without any hope of payment. 99% are freeloaders. Yet, the board continues to grow to the point where it’s often difficult to read and post.
