On Fri, 2005-06-03 at 21:00 +0100, Ian Lynch wrote: > Yes but do you really need to pay for them?
It's called manufactured needs. In a consumer society, people whose basic physical needs are already met are encouraged to spend money on things they don't especially need. Whole categories of merchandise fall into this category, including SUVs, microwaves, cell phones, and laptop computers. All these things are useful for certain people, but millions buy them for no better reason than they can or because they have a vague but persistent fear of being left behind. That's one of the things I like about FOSS -- it undermines the foundation of the consumer society. :-) -- Bruce Byfield 604-421.7177 http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield
