why free?

[Simon Morris]

On Mon, 2005-07-18 at 11:09 +0100, Steven wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I would like to rephrase the question to:
> 
> Is non-free software always bad for consumers?
> 
> Lets say you buy a non-free car at a garage  with a closed and locked
> hood and an exclusive service contract. You don't care for these
> restrictions, because you have no idea of what to do with an engine if
> you saw one. If your car breaks down you'll bring it to the garage.
> 
> But....
> What if this garage has become unreachable?
> What if this garage has become more expensive than average?
> What if you doubt the competence of this garage?
> What if you have something which can boost your performance or safety
> of this car ?
> What if your neighbour is a mechanic and can repair your problems for
> free or a few bucks ?

What if you want to make a modification that is of little interest or
commercial value to the garage but is very interesting or profitable to
you?

With closed source (cars :) you can't make this kind of alteration
easily

~sm