Post #2231590
2026-03-08 13:45 UTC
@RandySimons@mastodon.social @leeg@fosstodon.org
The point is not just about the money.
When you bought that Visual C++ license, you knew you could use it as long as you wished, regardless of whether the vendor went belly up or discontinued the product or decided they didn't want you or anyone in your country as a customer.
If you want to avoid that lock-in, the hardware cost is significant, and recurring.
Replies (1)
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@RandySimons@mastodon.social 2026-03-08 14:13
@jani@floss.social @leeg@fosstodon.org But that qwen3-coder-next model is more free (as in libre) than that VC++ license ever was. Runs locally on my machine. Never requires new hardware. So present, affordable hardware (minus DRAM...) can already run free, capable AI. It will get better still. And newer (free) models might require beefier hardware, but how is that different from free software?