[kylec]

Um, the analogy clearly states that the hippie is selling the beans:

    A better comparison would be that someone writing free software is like a hippie
    who grows his own coffee beans and sells them at the side of the road by his farm

[pessimizer]

Wow, I remember actually going back to check that and I still got it wrong. Must have been distracted by something shiny. Criticism still applies, though. Part of the cost of buying the coffee is his terms. He's giving you an option that you didn't have before, but if the cost is too high, there's always Starbucks.

[raganwald]

This is why I used the term “selling.” There’s always an “exchange of consideration” with software that is not placed in the public domain.