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Comment by grahamlee | Hacker News Reader

Before Sun Microsystems got very into GPLing their entire estate, Scott McNealy had a phrase that free software was “free as in puppies” in that you might get them for free but you’re paying every day after. Our author here doubles down on free as in puppies.

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This is absolutely my experience. For example, you'd think that the message passing space is completely owned by FOSS at this point. But, a while back, I worked at a shop that used a commercial library for building APIs, and I was genuinely impressed at how nice it was to work with. It would be difficult or impossible to do a proper analysis on this point, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if that package paid for itself many times over in annual labor cost savings.

Do you remember what library it was?

It's more like free as in a car. Puppies don't generally provide significant utility as such, even though dogs are adorable, have great intangible benefits, etc.

A car requires maintenance, upkeep, fuel, insurance, certification (a license), registration, and other things. But a free car has a lot of value assuming it works. Even then, some people can't afford even a free car.

I'm sorry to say this but you are uninformed. Dogs have immense utility! These days yes they are generally house pets but they greatly improve mental health and love you unconditionally.

Dogs are also used as ratters, herders, and as protection for livestock from predators like foxes or lions (depending on where you live...). So much so, some working dogs can go for 50k in Australia!

Dogs require upkeep in the form of food, water, vaccinations, training and toileting.

As such the description "free as in puppies" is apt.

Have a good day :)

For the purposes of communicating with larger audiences, I'm assuming the general experience with dogs, which is typically as a house pet. You're correct that a free working dog is a different scenario, but qualifying the idiom loses something. I don't see "free as in puppies suitable for work you can make practical use of" catching on.

I am a dog person, for what it's worth.

Sounds similar to "free as in piano" https://twitter.com/leahvelleman/status/1377829865504833536?...

Much better than buying puppies and then paying every day after :D

Yeah but if you pay for puppies you also have to pay for puppies forever after that? So isn't that the same thing, except you saved a bit at the start?

The problem with the analogy is that with paid software you are also in the same position of paying to feed the puppies but you also paid up front for the puppies and signed a contract to buy the food from the seller.

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