From: Michael S. Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Fri Dec 08 2000 - 12:30:45 MST
Harvey Newstrom wrote:
>
> At 12:07am -0800 12/7/00, Michael M. Butler wrote:
> >On the other side of the fence: none of the Xanies would have predicted
> >the widespread implementation and immense success and popularity of
> >*free* search engines. Free? Are you *nuts*? :)
>
> I disagree. The Internet was not originally a commercial venture.
> It started as a free service to connect researchers with Arpanet in
> 1969. Military personnel got free access, as did graduate students
> in the computer departments. The first search engines started
> appearing in 1990. Archie, Veronica, WAIS, VSL, and the like, were
> all free. The concept of paying for access or information didn't
> really become common until 1995 with the advent of AOL. For decades,
> free access to information was the default. It is the concept of
> paying for information that would have been zany or unforeseen by the
> early adopters.
Rather, 'pseudo-free'. The student pays tuition (or in more socialize
states, pays taxes on higher income later on to pay back subsidies), and
the service is a benefit of the education package paid for. Military
personnel were employees, and their employer paid for them. TANSTAAFL,
Harvey. I don't pay for the desk I am sitting at, the PC I am using, or
the internet service I am currently using. Its paid for by my employer
(or rather, in my case, my customer).
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