Who Will Pay For Software?
Dave Winer,
DaveNet,
May 27, 2003
Dave Winer writes a two part piece bemoaning the fact that people do not want to pay for software. (Part Two) The short items are worth reading, but ask yourself this: does everything have to be based on a user-pay model? Winer asks, "Could you run a car in the Indy 500 with no money?" Well no. But also, "If you paid nothing for health care, you'd likely die sooner." In fact, I don't pay for health care: I live in Canada where we have a public health care system. Now of course my free health care doesn't mean that we rely on volunteer doctors. But there are many, many ways to set up an economy. I don't pay to visit public parks. I don't pay to use a road. I don't pay to listen to the radio. Shrink-wrap pricing and licensing is one way to pay for something. Now I'm not saying all software out to be produced by the government. But I am saying is that Winer is setting up a false dilemma.
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