Re: Comments on MicroPayments and the Web

["Perry E. Metzger" <perry@piermont.com>]

Bruce Baugh writes:
> Hal wrote:
> >Consider two sites, one which acts as a proxy and cache but which
> >charges something under a penny per page, and another which acts for
> >free.  Won't the for-pay site be able to afford a larger disk, more
> >servers, and better net connections?  It will be a superior service.
> 
> Just like commercial crypto, servers, news clients, and the like are all
> superior to the free versions?

Software and hardware follow different rules.

Free software can often be superior because even tiny contributions by
large numbers of people can all "add up", and software has no cost to
its distribution in free form. A person of limited means who is into
the idea and has good skills and a good concept (like Phil Z.) can get
massive global distribution of their product.

Hardware, however, costs actual dollars, and many people don't have
those in large supply. Connectivity costs, too. Poor folks can't pay
for T3s, at least not at their current prices.

Perry