"Nearly a quarter-century ago, the mantra 'information wants to be free' heralded an era in which news, entertainment and personal communications would flow at no charge over the Internet.
"Now comes a new rallying cry: software wants to be free. Or, as the tech insiders say, it wants to be 'zero dollar.'
"A growing number of consumers are paying just that--nothing. This is the Internet's latest phase: people using freely distributed applications, from e-mail and word processing programs to spreadsheets, games and financial management tools..."
