Some online resources are free and others are not-but it can be hard to predict which resources are in which category. Do users pay for web-based e-mail? Sometimes they do, as in the case of lifetime e-mail service from Pobox, but often they do not, as in the case of Hotmail from Microsoft or Gmail from Google. Do users pay for wireless Internet access at "hotspots"? Historically such access carries a fee, as it does at the T-Mobile HotSpots at many airports and hotels, but now a number of retail outlets are providing such access without a fee, such as Panera Bread, Whole Foods, and recently Starbucks. Do users pay for software? Many users do pay for a wide variety of commercial software, yet other software like the Linux operating system and the FireFox web browser can be downloaded without charge.
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