Even if one company charges "high" prices for libre computers, it will not
diminish the demand for such computers. You either want one or you don't. The
question is at what price.
As far as sacrificing short term gain for long term profit, isn't that was
this thread is about, in essence? Minifree used to charge less for their
computers. Sort of like the old saying about drug dealers... the first time
is free. By charging less in the beginning he proved himself to provide a
quality product. More people want his computers. Now, sure, he could charge
hundreds of dollars less per computer, but then he'd likely have a long
waiting queue to be able to get one. By charging a higher amount, the people
who are willing to pony up the most are, in essence, saying that they value
the computer more than others. For example, I personally, would love to have
one, but I only value one at about $100. So, I'm not going to buy one. But
that's because I don't really like old laptops and already have a great
computer, even if it's not librebooted. But somebody else who needs a mission
critical 100% libre computer and *doesn't* already have one might value a
Minifree computer at $1000. So, this way he can sort of put himself at the
head of the line. If the computers were much cheaper, he might be at the back
of the line in getting one, even though his need is much greater than, say,
mine.
As far as the desert example, it is still very much true that the sunscreen
purchase is voluntary. He could always choose to not buy it. Instead of
sunscreen perhaps he'll wear long sleeves and a towel around his head. That
being said, it doesn't matter if the object were water or sunscreen. It's
still voluntary. Just because nature is such that humans need water to
survive does not preclude the fact that the trade is voluntary. Remember, the
person "selling" the water is *also* "buying" your money.
