So where can one find these alleged just-as-good or even nearly-as-good free fonts? Googling "free fonts" is like visiting Internet Archive pages.
Also -- I like that the "Fuck the Foundaries" article is intended to be viewed in Gill Sans.
IMHO the best in that list is probably: http://sixrevisions.com/graphics-design/45-beautiful-free-fo...
A lot of "high quality" free fonts are also student projects, and can actually be pretty raw setting lots of type.
This is a new technology which most font designers probably haven't heard of and taken account of in their licencing. Crucially it involves putting the actual font on a public web server for users to download.
I followed a random link posted here and on checking the licence on a "free" font found this:
"the consumer may use Harold's Fonts in any way EXCEPT redistribution of the digital font itself in any form."
As with software, if they're not using a recognised licence (SIL OFL, CC, GPL) then triple check that you and the copyright owner agree on definitions before using it in a commercial setting.
The link from the article is sparse because they're not just "free", they're open source. Which as software guys you know is a big difference.
Also, to the original poster: what's with the attitude? You're asking for fonts and yet you haven't even specified what kind your looking for, or for what purpose. It's almost like you're trying to prove a point about the lack of quality free fonts rather than ask a genuine question or meet a real need.
Make sure you read the licenses; most just require an attribution link if embedded.