[LINK] E-books said to be "utterly unneeded"

[Danny Yee]

Chirgwin, Richard wrote:
> Back to product vs service: the key difference is that a service is
> ephemeral, and can be arbitrarily withdrawn. I can be denied service in a
> shop; but once I own the book/bread/toaster, then it can only be removed
> from my possession by due process of law.

I'm thinking more along the lines of X pays Y to do something;
in order to do that, Y produces some software...  The ownership or
possession of the software is then irrelevant, and it can be GPLed
(say) and become part of our common knowledge, available to everyone.

> There, I guess, is the summary of the diminuition of our rights. You 
> cannot *own* a service.

I have no trouble with owning software -- if by "own" you include
the sense in which I own all the free software and public domain
information on the planet (since I have the right to use and modify and
redistribute it).  And I have no trouble with owning physical books.
It's just the idea of someone "owning" particular ideas and information
that worries me...

Danny.