Of all the players, I'd argue Google certainly knows how to give away a product for free and still make money.
The local open source argument doesn't hold water for me -- why does anyone buy Windows, Dropbox, etc when there's free alternatives?
The local open source argument doesn't hold water for me -- why does anyone buy Windows, Dropbox, etc when there's free alternatives?
Installing an OS is seen as a hard/technical task still. Installing a local program, not so much. I suspect people install LLM programs from app stores without knowing if they are calling out to the internet or running locally.
No one buys Windows - it comes with the PC.
If people were shipped blank computers and told to order the OS separately, they wouldn't be buying Windows at the current price point.