IMO, $6/mon is more of a nuisance than a hindrance. One has to wonder, though- why six dollars, as opposed to twenty? I would be just as likely to pay $20/mon as I would $6/mon, if I think that what they're offering up is even slightly better than what than Google or Zoho offers.
So, the problem isn't so much the fact that it's not cost-free, but that it's cost-free but cheap. I don't like cheap.
As far as the state should be concerned, marriage is nothing but a legal contract, and the state has no business telling anyone who they can or can't enter into a contract with. You've done the free world a solid, New York.
I like this. I like this a lot. This is perfect for someone who just needs to get a few thoughts together and can't be bothered with firing up Dia or something similarly bloated.
The smart thing to do is build it yourself, learning whatever you need to learn as you go along. You don't need anyone's permission or expertise to get something up and working. At the very least, try to build just enough of your idea to get the right people (developers, designers) excited.
Again, that's all 'really neat', but the headline of the story is stating that people need what they're doing, which is b.s., so long as I can't ask how many people are using Linux and get something like an answer. I don't need to know how many cephids are visible from Modesto, CA. If you do, Wolfram Alpha is 'really neat'.
The beautiful thing about Google is that most questions along the lines of 'what is the distance between Mars and Jupiter", or "how many mililitres are in a gallon?" have already been answered, somewhere, and Google will point you to the answer. If it aint broke, don't fix it. Now, I don't doubt there are applications for Wolfram Alpha (I've heard their API is what really gets people excited), but do 'people need what they're doing'? Not particularly. It's a lot of hype.
bash (I could use (z,c)sh if forced at gunpoint, but I have too many personal scripts relying on bashisms), byobu/screen, rxvt, openssh-client, git, vim, irssi, chrome, empathy, dropbox.
There was a time when I would've listed mutt, procmail and getmail at the front of a list like this, but mutt doesn't seem to play well with flaky connections, and with desert island broadband being what it is...
And I would point out that the same query, given to Google, returns a suggestion to search for 'number or Linux users', which is what I was thinking. Google doesn't know much, but it knows enough to get me where I'm going without having to think, or type, much. Isn't that what it's all about?
I understand the geeks downvoting me, though. Wolfram Alpha is 'really neat' and 'really neat' is what we like.
What I don't understand is this idea that hammering a nail with a toolbox is a smart way to do things.
I then asked 'how many people are using Linux?'. It seems to think I'm asking 'how many people use the word 'Linux', as it returns the same result set as my initial query (word definitions and such). I ran the same query again with 'Linux' as an operating system topic, and it tells me that "Development of this topic is under investigation.."
Then it asks me to leave my email address to show interest.
So, the problem isn't so much the fact that it's not cost-free, but that it's cost-free but cheap. I don't like cheap.