thomq: However, software freedom doesn't matter to the everyday person who is not a computer engineer. They still have to wait, just like they do for all the features and applications they can't make for themselves. Better off watching the sunrise or a gentle misting rain. Companies can sometimes afford to hire a computer engineering department, but that's ridiculous to expect of the everyday person. Computers aren't for the everyday person, they should never buy one.
dtgreene: Software freedom, however, is nice for the average person who just wants to dabble in programming, or sees programming as a hobby, rather than a profession. In particular, being able to see the code means you can learn from it, study it, and even play around with it some. Generally, only people who work on computers for a living get to see the source code of closed source software, but anyone can get the source code of open source software.
So yes, being able to loot at the source code can be useful for the average person.
An average person might have and pursue an interest in computer engineering activities, however I dare say the average person does not. Well, except when there's a group of people when the average person does… It's just that I'm thinking more along the lines of planet-wide, so: an average person, yes; the average person, no.
(On the other hand, I wasn't thinking the everyday person as being an average of anything.)
