Post by h***@bbs.cpcn.com
IBM obviously "lost money" in giving out free software; I don't think
they charged even for distribution tapes or documentation even in the
1970s after unbundling; if it was a legacy free item, you got the
package for free. (And IIRC, some unbundled fee products were still
quite cheap, esp as compared to today's software prices.)
Anyway, the free software was IBM's 'loss leader' to build the utility
value of its computers. IBM unbundled this partly in response to anti-
trust pressures, says Watson in his autobio.
IBM obviously "lost money" in giving out free software; I don't thinkthey charged even for distribution tapes or documentation even in the1970s after unbundling; if it was a legacy free item, you got thepackage for free. (And IIRC, some unbundled fee products were stillquite cheap, esp as compared to today's software prices.)Anyway, the free software was IBM's 'loss leader' to build the utilityvalue of its computers. IBM unbundled this partly in response to anti-trust pressures, says Watson in his autobio.
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