Rebirth of the Internet Overlord

Zhang Xiaolong was a software person in the early days of Zhonghua. At that time, Chinese people did not have the concept of paying for software, so most Chinese software practitioners could only work for large companies to provide services, or choose to follow the path of free software.

From the time he developed Foxmail in 1997 to the present, Zhang Xiaolong, who is on the road to free software, has been struggling in that precarious living environment.

But what is the scene like in the United States at this time?

Ning Zimo got his first pot of 100,000 US dollars in income by relying on a graphical human-computer verification program, and there are many foreign programmers like him who make money. That is because the foreign terminal consumer group has formed a market, so that

In the early 21st century, foreign Internet industries were ahead of the curve.

In Huazhong, people like Zhang Xiaolong are lucky. Boda Company acquired Foxmail for 10 million in 2000. Zhang Xiaolong took over Boda as CTO, responsible for the technical management and development of the entire company.

In fact, Boda was not only optimistic about Zhang Xiaolong's ability, but also the 3 million users of Foxmail in Zhang Xiaolong's hands at that time.

However, although Boda, which acquired Foxmail, is itself an Internet company in the WSP field, its main business is in mailing lists, server mirrors, survey engines, multi-domain name redirection, etc. It seems to have some connection with Foxmail, but it has not yet found a way to survive after integration.

On the way, Boda's holding company stopped investing just five months later.

Without capital injection, software practitioners are like lone rangers swaying on a snowy night in the cold winter of the Internet. No one knows how long they can persist, because one day they may not be able to persist and they will collapse.

And why would Bobo, which acquired Foxmail, fail, but Beibao, which acquired Ningzimo's human-machine verification program, would not?

In addition to the sound financial system in the United States, it is also related to the willingness of Internet terminal consumers to pay for their own consumption.

Where there is a market, there is a pool of funds, which gives Beibao money to circulate. But what about Boda? It acquired the famous Foxmail, but it cannot make money from its reputation.

Therefore, in the final analysis, this society has no way to rely on morality to make a living, and people are still within the market system. If they follow market rules, pay for their own consumption, and achieve the ultimate goal of making the market sound, then people in this system will actually still be

Beneficial.

There are too many such examples in previous lives, such as Xunlei, major video websites, and League of Legends. They all used the idea of ​​​​free software, and the basic functions are free.

However, if you want to enjoy better services or experiences, the nature of supporting services must require investment. Users pay to enjoy advanced services, and service providers earn appropriate benefits. This can support service providers in a better direction.

Develop and let users ultimately benefit.

In this link, if any point is distorted, it will eventually have adverse effects.

But Ning Zimo couldn't take these things out and tell Zhang Xiaolong and the others directly. He had to find another way.

Fortunately, there are so many such examples that anyone with some logical thinking can understand them.

"Brother Long, maybe you are in the industry and don't know where you are. Let me give you an example that has nothing to do with the Internet. After talking to you, you will definitely understand. For this example, let's use free medical care.

Several presidents of the United States once wanted to achieve universal medical care. It sounds great, right? But in reality, because the operation of hospitals requires corresponding expenses, venues, personnel, facilities, supplies and other corresponding services cannot be free.

As a result, in the universal medical insurance plan provided by the United States, the effectively funded universal medical capacity is limited, and only a small part of the services can be provided to people every day, so people who need to see a doctor must queue up.

In continents with larger populations, even a common cold has to be queued for at least a week, so what should you do? Users can choose to pay. Private doctors in the free market can very well make up for the vacancies in public hospitals. For those who have a little money,

In other words, wouldn’t it be enough to just spend money to buy services?

Although it seems more expensive than public medical care, the cost of public medical care is only so much, and the quality of the practitioners will naturally be relatively poor. Therefore, middle-class families and above almost always choose private hospitals most.

Does that sound like the opposite of growing flowers? But it’s true!”

Li Ying saw Zhang Xiaolong and Chen Li's eyes widening, and she nodded specifically, "Yes, this is the situation in the United States. It is normal to wait in line for a week for medical treatment. Unless you choose a private hospital, you will have to pay more.

"

After Li Ying finished speaking, Ning Zimo shrugged and continued, "Then bringing the topic back to free software, you will find that in the case just now, the free market public hospital is the basic service in free software, which can meet the basic needs of free software.

needs, but at the same time it is subject to conditions and the services it provides can only be the most basic.

If you want to enjoy high-end services, just pay freely.”

Zhang Xiaolong smacked his lips, thought for a while and suddenly said, "But the Internet, software and medical care are essentially different. The use of the Internet and software is local to the user. He does not need to queue up, so he can naturally choose not to pay."

"Yes, but the audience of the Internet and software is different from the audience of a hospital. A hospital can only deal with people in one area. On the Internet, your software deals with tens of millions of people. But there are always some functional requirements.

, People who have high requirements for efficiency and service, these people have the need to pay for high-level services, why not respond to them? "

"But, doesn't this treat users differently? Besides, people can use it for free, so why should they pay?" Zhang Xiaolong stared.

"But [Nuwa] has a free version for you to use, and it is enough for you. Why do you still have to pay for the professional version?" Ning Zimo spread his hands and said in confusion.

Then, Ning Zimo rubbed his chin and thought thoughtfully, "Oh, that's right. We can't treat users differently, so everyone should enjoy public medical care regardless of their education level or birth status, so I shouldn't study that at all.

5 years of undergraduate studies, 3 years of postgraduate studies, and 3 years of regular training and internship.

This way, my life will be much easier, and I don’t need my parents to spend so much money to support me. Medical care is free anyway, and whoever wants to study medicine can study medicine.”

"It's not like the state doesn't pay doctors and nurses?" Zhang Xiaolong was anxious.

"Let's not talk about where the money from the state comes from. Let's just say that under this system, I can't even support myself with the money given by the state. I studied hard in my humble window, and in the end I didn't even have the possibility to continue the family lineage in our Chinese virtues.

None?" Ning Zimo also sneered back.

"You said, when people who want to be doctors see how hard it is to be a doctor, why don't they study computer science? Oops, no, no, no one is willing to buy what a computer major can do, so they should study something else.

?

Eh, that’s not right. No one is willing to pay. I feel like there is no future in reading anything. How come it’s free and everything seems to be affected?” Ning Zimo raised his eyebrows at Zhang Xiaolong, “Brother Long, this situation should be serious.

Let's be realistic. At this time, someone will definitely use moral standards to push virtuous people up?

If you build a memorial arch for others, let those who are capable do it for free, or reduce their income to satisfy your own selfish desires, is that what humans do?"

Zhang Xiaolong was speechless. He understood that what Ning Zimo said existed and was even deep-rooted.

But what can he do?

Born and raised here, how can software people survive in such an environment?

He was even more confused.

Ning Zimo saw the loneliness in his eyes and sighed slightly.

After being silent for a long time, Ning Zimo shrugged and said, "People always say that businessmen pursue profits, but if this society wants to develop, there is no place where money is not needed. The era of big pot rice finally confirmed that the unified way of life is in the face of the evil of human nature.

It is simply impossible to develop healthily.

There is nothing wrong with chasing money. Appropriate fees and reasonable profits are the inevitable way to make various services better and to allow society to always develop towards a better era.

So, your freedom is to choose free, and my freedom is to pursue better things. If you choose free, aren't you killing my yearning for beautiful things? I have learned so many things that I can only provide to others.

Poor service? In this case, it’s freedom for you, but doesn’t it mean no freedom for me?

So, can you tell me now, the 'freedom' of free software in free software, is it free choice or free? Does free software mean to provide the same services to everyone? If so, then every one of us should be damned

, there is nowhere to put your personality and charm, so where can you put it?

The skills we have learned for a long time are free, so why should I learn from him?"

Zhang Xiaolong was speechless. Although the example given by Ning Zimo was far from free software. But when he thought about the essence of the two things, completely different industries revealed the meaning of achieving the same goal through different paths.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xiaolong said helplessly, "Okay, I think I have to agree with your views on free software. My previous understanding was indeed wrong. So do you have any solution to this dilemma? If you do, I will

Paid consultation.”

Ning Zimo looked at Zhang Xiaolong's lips raised in a sly smile, and understood that this was his intention to rebel against the general.

But how can I get a porcelain job without diamonds?

Seeing Zhang Xiaolong walking towards his maze step by step, Ning Zimo laughed happily.