by John T. Spencer
There are no free apps. I know, I know. Some of them don't cost a penny. I get that. But they aren't free. Not really. Corporations use "free" in order to sell something. Apple sells more products. Google sells more advertising. App-developers offer "free" with the goal of selling a nicer version. Often, freeware developers have a goal of selling customized consulting and IT development.
Even open source comes with layers of cultural, social and political systemic thinking. Regardless of geography, every medium develops in a context and that context comes loaded with socio-cultural layers. There is a cost to every application. Sometimes it's environmental. Other times, it's social. But it always costs something.
Perhaps we shouldn't be looking for "free" apps at all. Maybe we need to switch to a paradigm that says, "What is the cost?" and "What is the trade-off?" Perhaps instead of saying, "Is this free?" we need to ask, "Is this worth it?"