Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!ctrsol!emory!phssra
From: phssra@mathcs.emory.edu (Scott R. Anderson)
Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: Copywrongs
Message-ID: <4370@emory.mathcs.emory.edu>
Date: 24 Sep 89 13:50:30 GMT
References: <11143@watcgl.waterloo.edu> <8908182307.AA11856@nlp9> <12440@s.ms.uky.edu> <2574@trantor.harris-atd.com> <10512@claris.com> <2602@trantor.harris-atd.com> <1989Sep7.192142.11623@sli.com>
Reply-To: phssra@emory.UUCP (Scott Robert Anderson)
Organization: Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta
Lines: 27

In article <1989Sep7.192142.11623@sli.com> rich@sli.UUCP (Rich K. Braun) writes:
>In article <...> bbadger@x102c.harris-atd.com (Badger BA 64810) writes:
>>I think that software prices are inflated to beyond what the market will 
>>bear.  I think FSF will have a healthy influence, by forcing the
>>market to respond with cheaper and better software.  
>
>Welcome to Economics 101.  The statement that prices are inflated "beyond"
>what the market will bear is obviously false if you think about it even
>for a second.  Prices are currently, and always will be, set at precisely
>what the market will bear.

Unfortunately, there are really two (or more) "submarkets" here:  businesses
and individuals.  The former typically have much more money to spend than the
latter, so that tends to be where software companies focus their attention.
So, while the second statement above is true for the market as a whole, it is
not true for the individual pocketbook from which the first statement emanates.

A good example is what happened with Macintosh software.  As the Macintosh
became more popular amongst businesses, the price of software increased
dramatically, even though the actual number of macs was also increasing (it
all started with PageMaker, I believe).

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  *      **                  Scott Robert Anderson      gatech!emoryu1!phssra
   *   *    *    **          phssra@unix.cc.emory.edu   phssra@emoryu1.bitnet
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