@Joseph, how did software become free? Why not free beer as the link below suggests. Just like the Ocean pirates and if I was the investigation person, I'd start with the money trail and see how a global asset such as software became free? Who funds it and do the well-wishers in the system benefit at all through financial re-imbursements or business representations of any kind or is the tax laws of countries been twisted to fund such ops. The freeware that is being fed to the world may have more deeper roots in financial systems worldwide. For example, we know google is free but funds itself in ads etc. What about the rest?

 

The "free" in "free software" that Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation talk about, refers to *freedom*, not zero cost. Here's their definition: <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>, and much more: <http://www.fsf.org/>.

Joseph.