Calling for cheap
Hardware will never be free. It is substance, and substance comes only at a cost. Data, however–the 1s and 0s that make up the information that is the lifeblood of hardware–is a lot cheaper. There has always been free software, and the internet has made free software ubiquitous. I would bet everyone has at least one free program on their system, whether it is Adobe Reader, AOL Instant Messenger, or some useful tool like Launchy. Some are built to be vehicles for advertising. Some, like Launchy, were created by someone who wanted a simple tool, and then developed into something useful with a life of its own.
David Pogue, the New York Times columnist who wrote “Overseas Calls Made Cheap, If Not Easy,” (login required, or use BugMeNot) believes that phone calling is going the way of instant messenging. And by all appearances, it is. While traditional phones are quick and easy, they aren’t cheap any longer.
