Re: [tlug] Free

["Marty Pauley" <marty.pauley@example.com>]

On 05/08/07, Lyle H Saxon <llletters@example.com> wrote:
> Marty Pauley wrote:
> >>LHS: Then "modern economic terminology" is sophistic and divorced from
> >>reality.  When you pay money for something that you don't want, it's
> >>not free.
> >
> >Maybe you should read your dictionary again, or maybe we all should
> >stop using the work "free" if we are all using different meanings.
>
> That definition of free refers to freedom, the definition of free Curt
> was referring to was one of money.  You're mixing those up as a joke,
> or are you a non-native English speaker?

I was mixing them up to make a point (and writing "work" instead of
"word" was just a typo).  I do think we should stop using the word
"free" in this discussion.

So, if I rephrase the point about Windows: if a PC costs the same with
or without Windows then the reasonable man (using the British legal
definition of "reasonable man", also sometimes known as "the man on
the Clapham omnibus") will believe that Windows costs nothing; or at
least it costs *him* nothing.

When I buy a new PC, Windows costs nothing for me.  It did have a cost
for the maker; but the maker had lots of other costs too, like staff,
marketing, package design, testing, distribution, legal fees, coffee,
electricity, etc.  But I don't pay those directly.

-- 
Marty