"Software is like sex. It's better when it's free."

Sex is not always free, and even when it is free, it carries hidden costs, same as software ;)

Software is like sex. It's better when it's bug-free.

"But if you have particular requirements you're probably going to have to pay for it"

You, my friend, have obviously never paid for sex.

I dont know - I like the ideal.

But imo price is not the most important aspect of quality software. The important thing is cost - and that doesnt just mean monetary.

(to take the sex analogy; a one night stand might be free and great fun, but it could come back and bite you 9 months later just because you forgot an important consideration in the first place)

I read that quote as being attributed to Linus Torvalds a number of years ago.

I agree with him, too. Free software is way more fun than the paid sort, at least I find it much more pleasant to work with/on.

I find this quote confusing. I can accept that gratis sex is better than paid-for sex, but then it's a pretty banal analogy to make -- in simplistic terms, anything is 'better' if you can get it without paying for it, software or otherwise.

On the other hand, if it's trying to make a case for libre software, then it's must be talking about libre sex. And I'm really not clear on what that entails.

I think coding to to software, what sex is to a relationship... both are over rated.

Gosh, if only there were a place where people could post snarky little one-liners they overheard somewhere...