Why free is the future of business

Free cell phones--but you have to pay hefty monthly fees to use them. Video game consoles at well below cost--but you have to buy expensive video games to use them. Free coffee makers for businesses--but you have to buy coffee packets to make them work. King Gillette started the trend in the 1900s by giving away razors so people would buy disposable blades. It still works--with the cost of many tech products falling fast, businesses realize that more money can be made tricking consumers into thinking they're getting something for nothing.

Read the full Wired story: "Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business"

[DigitalFrog]

This concept made it into the IT world years ago. I was shopping for a new printer and a salesperson pointed out the shaving connection with printers - They sell the printer for dirt cheap or free with a PC bundle, but get you on the blades and shaving cream - namely the ink/toner and paper (for photo printers). I always recommend to people shopping for printers to price out the ink costs (paying close attention to how many pages per cartridge) as one of the major deciding factors.