This is EXACTLY why I believe that ALL software should be free, with exceptions for business-specific enterprise software.
It is virtually impossible to make a living from selling your independent software, and by charging for it you are prohibiting many people from using it who could really benefit from it. The more people who use it, the better you should feel, and the more it will spread.
It's like music. I write music as a hobby, and sure I could put it on iTunes or whatever and charge 99 cents per song. But why would anyone listen to it? I would much rather upload it for free to Youtube so that as many people can enjoy it as possible. When it's up there for free, people can listen and share it with their friends, and maybe I could gain a following. But if I only charged for it, maybe one or two people would pay for it and that would be the end of it. I'd have no fans and maybe two dollars.
I believe my car should be free, otherwise I might not use it.
Richard Stallman ? Is that your handle here on MR ?
Seriously, if the free software movement was the way forward, then we'd all be running GNU and joining the Venus project.
Evolution has led us to a resource-based economy and your work and my work are resources that will only be utilized if someone "pays", either in fiat currency or other resources (barter), but eventually we all need to eat and pay for shelter.
In an affluent society there is space for "free" or charitable work contributed by those who are supported by others or have accumulated enough wealth prior to contributing selflessly.
So take music. Before the i-Economy artists would play in clubs & bars for peanuts to build a following and then people would pay them (and their labels) for the studio version of their live performances. If the artists were great, eg. the Beatles, they'd get rich and famous, if not, they'd join the millions of starving musicians that continue their hobby on the side while holding down a real job.
"APPS"
As someone who's written millions of lines of C code in his early career, I smh at the mediocrity and uselessness of 90% of the Apps I see today. Despite all the dev tools available today and coders no longer having to write machine code, the laziness and lack of quality is astounding but not surprising to me.
So, DavidTheExpert, it's great that you share your music for free because you value "a following" over getting paid, but I would bet, that if you were any good at your craft and a music label come knocking on your door, you wouldn't offer your time for free to them.
