February 15, 1999
The Free-PC development raises more questions than it answers
By Bob O'Donnell
Well, it finally happened. With the introduction this past week of FreePC and the 10,000 free computers that they plan to
offer, the personal computer has officially become a commodity.
Not that this is a big surprise. (Nor do I expect this to be the last offer of this
type.) The signs were everywhere. Plunging PC prices, free Internet access services, free
cellular phones, and other types of freebies are all around and, in many ways, served as
precursors to this development. Still, the notion of a totally free computer (and not a
bad one, at that) does seem strange, there's no denying.
In fact, you could make the argument that the overall value of computers in general
decreased by a few notches as a result of this development. After all, if something's
free, there's less value attached to it than if you have to pay for it. Of course, Linux
and the free software movement seems intent on crushing this model, but in the world of
hardware, the rule has generally been true.
However, perhaps this development is the first in what could prove to be a long chain
of events that brings the "free with strings attached" model to the mainstream
of computing and consumer purchasing. It's kind of hard to imagine a world where all you
pay for is services, which would seem to be the ultimate outcome of these types of
changes, but then again, as recently as a few years ago, very few could imagine a free
information resource like the Internet.
Of course, there's a lot more to this Free-PC announcement than just the impact on the
value of computers. One of the most controversial aspects of it, of course, is the
tracking that the system does of where you go and what you do on the Internet. Many will
undoubtedly argue that this smacks of Big Brother in the worst way -- having some type of
system watching over your shoulder and knowing your every move is unquestionably
disconcerting. On the other hand, no one is forcing the reported 300,000 people who signed
up for a Free-PC in the first few days to do so. They did so of their own accord and had
to fill out a fairly extensive survey to do so.
The one concern I do have with the Free-PC application form is that while the
application page clearly describes the fact that the Free-PC's screen will be surrounded
by targeted advertising, you have to look around a bit on the company's Web site to see
that they will be logging "use patterns" of the computer. I think that
information needs to be incorporated into the application form and be made explicit.
Another controversial part of the plan is figuring out whom the service is targeting.
The point has already been raised of whether this notion of a free computer means that the
poor and others who could arguably most benefit from the offer will be the ones who
actually receives the computers. The underlying question is whether or not the freedom to
wander the Web without being tracked is something that will soon cost money (and,
therefore, inherently leave out the poor.)
Frankly, I don't think this last point is a legitimate concern, for several reasons.
More than likely, there will be some type of minimum income requirement to even be
eligible for the free computers (although I doubt the company would ever admit to it, for
obvious reasons). After all, they plan to make money by selling advertising and
advertisers are only interested in people who can and will spend money on their products
and services.
An even more important reason is that the very nature of the request is already
self-selecting. To sign up for the free computer you have to have access to the Internet.
Now, I realize that Internet access is available in some public places such as libraries,
but I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of people who initially signed up for the
offer already own at least one computer that has Internet access.
Ultimately, this Free-PC development raises more questions than it answers, but it
unquestionably strikes at the very heart of where the value of a computer and the services
that it uses lies.
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Copyright 1999, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
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