What else is trending towards becoming "free"? \ stacker news ~meta

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What else is trending towards becoming "free"?

4579 sats \ 32 comments \ @birdeye21 5 Dec 2023 meta

There's no such thing as a free lunch. I hope bitcoiners here already understand that.

But suspending the reality of "free" stuff for a moment -- what are the aspects of our lives that you anticipate we'll stop having to pay for over time?

Yeah, everyone wants a right to free healthcare, not understanding the stupidity of statements like that. That's not what I'm trying to get after here. Policy won't make stuff free. Government just makes stuff more expensive. What will technology make free?

Think of information, for an obvious example. Information at large has become entirely free thanks to technology. Of course, there's so much garbage out there that we'll pay to filter the noise out. But no one's paying for every page of text they read now. Google just spews it to us. Technological deflation is a wonderful thing.

So then, I'm wondering: Like information, what else will tech deflation make basically "free" for us in our lifetimes?

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479 sats \ 6 replies \ @siggy47 5 Dec 2023

Along the lines of your example- software. FOSS really is spreading. Linux server software has almost completely replaced Microsoft. Inroads are slowly being made on the personal computing side. People distrust closed systems more than ever, whether or not they have the technical capability to examine the code. I'll be happy went the Apple beast is finally slayed.

244 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined 5 Dec 2023

I've been thinking about this for a while. The lack of scarcity with software means that eventually it will all be freely available. That's the mainstream price theory prediction, where price = marginal cost. It's also the conclusion you'd reach by realizing that there are people who produce this stuff recreationally or for ideological reasons and want others to have free access.

422 sats \ 1 reply \ @0260378aef 5 Dec 2023

It's also the conclusion you'd reach by realizing that there are people who produce this stuff recreationally or for ideological reasons and want others to have free access.

That's a part of it, but the other part of it is that software itself is information. It's just a digital pattern, which can be copied. So there is no "rivalrousness" as the theorists of this type of thing, say. That's the main reason why the natural price of software is "kinda-sorta" zero.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 5 Dec 2023

That was the first part of my comment, wasn't it? I used "scarcity" instead of "rivalrousness" because it's the more familiar term.

422 sats \ 2 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 5 Dec 2023

it is absurd how expensive software can cost. No matter how much ROI it can produce, ABSURDITY.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 5 Dec 2023

Cost to produce or cost to purchase?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 5 Dec 2023

Purchase is what I was referring to. Im sure producing is expensive too, but i know that it's about to get a whole lot cheaper with the robots getting involved

63 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 5 Dec 2023

Only what you will produce yourself will be really "free". Even then, it will have some "costs" of other materials that you didn't/couldn't produce yourself.

But even let's say you can make all the materials / ingredients of a product by yourself, you still have to use some... ENERGY.

And right there... we are going back to Bitcoin. because Bitcoin is energy stored in a brilliant way.

I would say that what you are "paying" today to get some BTC it is the price for your future "free" product, if you can consider it like that.

70 sats \ 1 reply \ @Lux 5 Dec 2023

The combined deflationary effect of technology and Bitcoin has the potential to bring down drastically the overall cost of living. Also with mining incentivizing power production could we have free utilities?

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 5 Dec 2023

yup, cost of living is bound to tank over the coming decades. Not sure how it plays out, but that makes sense with utilities. Greater incentives there to drive costs down first

31 sats \ 0 replies \ @sebastix 5 Dec 2023

Running your own server at home or even in your pocket someday

43 sats \ 1 reply \ @0xbitcoiner 5 Dec 2023

Telecommunications, internet

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @davidw 5 Dec 2023

Agree on this one. Will be treated like water in a decade or two

31 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 5 Dec 2023

I'm hoping we get a good free map. Organic Maps on my Calyx needs a bit of work.

303 sats \ 3 replies \ @OneOneSeven 5 Dec 2023

[tinfoil hat]

Energy.

42 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 5 Dec 2023 freebie

why tinfoil hat? what is controversial about this, if that's how you define "tinfoil hat" topics?

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @OneOneSeven 5 Dec 2023

I guess just use it to go into "alien mode" , until we get a sub for it.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @0fje0 5 Dec 2023

I like this one and share your view.

Makes me wonder: when exactly (historically speaking) did energy become not free? I.e. something we accept we just need to actually pay for.

I'm sure this question may have been answered in countless books, but I can't recall seeing it phrased like this:

When did mankind first start paying someone else for energy as the norm? (As opposed to generating or harnessing it themselves.)

33 sats \ 1 reply \ @xz 5 Dec 2023

Seemingly not transaction fees / block space. Sorry, that's not really answering your question at all, just threw it in there as I was wondering how that might look ten years out.

... so my answer is LN transactions!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 6 Dec 2023

Haha yes, we like the high on chain fees over time, now it is painful tho 😭LN is the way.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Saxtheowl1 5 Dec 2023

fiat

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @davidw 5 Dec 2023

People

i.e. free people outcompete oppressed - a story as old as time itself. Not free in price, but free to do as they please with their potential.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @021da48107 5 Dec 2023

Computer storage space for the average end user. You can buy a 1TB micro SD for about $50 USD now-a-days. Most people don't need 1TB unless they store 4k media locally, which most don't do.

Maybe something new will come along and fill up all the geebees, but 1TB micro sd still blows my mind; too bad most phones don't accept micro sd cards anymore.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @tomlaies 5 Dec 2023

Due to capitalism the third world has become much more richer and less hungry. Thus the people are more free now - at least relatively speaking. They have more freedom to do with their time what they want to do. Unfortunately, we're still early in this and there are many oppressive & authoritarian regimes left.

But it will get better. Optimism is key.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @random_ 5 Dec 2023

If you get a bitcoin rebate on purchases, e.g. Fold, then your past purchases trend towards free.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @needcreations_ 9 Dec 2023

it's already free, and it's sad (porn)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @faithandcredit 6 Dec 2023 freebie

Food maybe

51 sats \ 4 replies \ @Zepasta 5 Dec 2023 freebie

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15 sats \ 1 reply \ @birdeye21 OP 5 Dec 2023

Very easy to shit on Twitter for many reasons but the conversations you can tune into there can be absolute gold sometimes, I learned so so much about bitcoin through twitter over the years. Its problem like you mentioned is just how inefficient it is -- a lot of junk in the way.

All great observations :)

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Zepasta 5 Dec 2023

Very true.

78 sats \ 1 reply \ @Zepasta 5 Dec 2023

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15 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 5 Dec 2023

haha actually noticed this too the other day

in the market for an external SSD and was anticipating the prices to be a lot more painful than they actually were