Sometimes knowing the right question is better than knowing the answer. Dave Winer asked Who will pay for Software? Robert Scoble adds that somewhere along the way people started believing that software should be free. And naturally, everyone looks askance at open source. But in my eyes, open source is only a symptom. The real problem is the ongoing commoditization of software.

Today, you can buy a 2 GHz Pentium 4 PC for less than last decade’s 133 MHz Pentium. That engenders a fundamental value expectation for the average consumer - when you can buy a PC bundled with software for $600, just how good does a $50 application need to be? Microsoft can make their money because they’re part of the bundle. But everyone else needs to convince the consumer that he will be 10% happier.

The right question is What will people buy?

Brent Simmons, of NetNewsWire fame, is editing Rogers Cadenhead’s upcoming book Radio Userland Kick Start. I can hardly wait. The more I work with Radio Userland, the more amazed I am with all the treasures hidden inside. Rogers has provided great input on the Radio Userland discussion group and I’m eager to get his book - especially sections 2 (Using the Object Database) and 3 (Writing Scripts with UserTalk).

The greatest goalie of the modern era hung up his skates today. He could have stayed. The Av’s are a potent team with creative attacking players, solid defense, and owners with deep pockets. And while Roy’s skills have faded, he remains one of the top five goalies in the game. But he retires today – perhaps a year too soon, but definitely not a year too late.

He leaves us with some great memories and I wish him well.

Dave Winer points out that Radio Userland tracks RSS subscribers today. And as I work with Radio, I constantly discover fascinating new features tucked inside. But while a Swiss Army Knife is a handy tool to have in your pocket, you shouldn’t try to use it for every task.

So at the risk of being presumptuous, I have to ask whether the Userland solution is the right way to count RSS subscribers. Business wants control over critical infrastructure, and referrer logs provide that control without introducing any new dependencies. At the very least, the RSS producer should be allowed to specify a host for the Web Bug simulator for XML. Plus, I don’t see how the simulator allows counting of anonymous users.

On the other hand, I suspect that conventional web server referrer logs are a problem for hosted weblogs. Hosted weblogs are the entry point for new voices on the web. And too many will succumb to weblog infant mortality without the positive feedback provided by referrer logs.

A few weeks back, I opined that Newsletter publishers would be forced to convert from email to RSS. There are basically two flavors of newsletters: the ad-supported newsletter and the paid subscription newsletter (many publishers provide both). And we’re going to need some support from the news aggregators if either is to succeed.

Tim Bray has already started the discussion on counting subscribers. His proposal uses a hash of the subscriber’s email address as a unique identifier. That would also provide a mechanism for keeping the count correct when distributing over both email and RSS. And the ad-supported newsletter would live on.

The paid newsletter needs username and password support from the RSS aggregator. In the short term, the username and password could be added to the URL. But this has obvious security concerns and causes problems when readers share their subscription lists.

Simon, it’s not about me taking you seriously as much as it is about me thinking seriously about blogs. I think that one of the main reasons for blog infant mortality is the failure to get positive feedback. But if you blog in search of feedback, then you’re blogging for the audience, not yourself - and that has got to cause problems in the long run. There ought to be a safe middle ground in there someplace and you caught me thinking out loud.

After further review, What is Simon Phipps’ beef? He has a solid Google page rank of 5 with 35 inbound links over 25 blogs (via Technorati). That may pale in comparison to Doc Searl’s page rank of 8 with 1372 links over 886 blogs, but then he isn’t one of the authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto either. It would seem that Simon has a nice reader base.

BTW, I should point out that my fixation on page rank, inbound links and referrers is not about ego. And if there is an inner circle of blogs, then I have no interest in belonging. But if something is worth doing, then it is worth doing well. And if that’s the only measuring stick that I’ve got, then that’s what I’m going to use.

Ok, maybe it is about ego. But just a little bit.

Simon Phipps asked How does one penetrate the ‘inner circle’ of weblogs? And Scoble shined a big, bright spotlight on him. But while the spotlight may bring the readers out, only content will keep them coming back. Between a fickle readership and a high blog mortality rate, I figure that my best bet is to blog my interests and let the chips fall where they may.

Most of my readers have been coming from Google, searching on Ant and JUnit. So I submitted my Java Tutorials page to the Open Directory Project. And I’m pleased to say that I’m on the Beginning Java Tutorial page as of Friday. It may not be the inner circle, but it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

You have to win it on the field. You have to enter the field of play and stand up and be counted. And so it was just and proper for Annika Sorenstam to compete in the Bank of America Colonial Invitational.

Now it is done. Sorenstam has proven that she can compete with the best players in the world on the right course. And the PGA has demonstrated that the best woman player in the world is not a threat to win, even on a hand picked course.

Sorenstam doesn’t plan on playing in a PGA event again – she has learned what she needed to know. The PGA may change their bylaws to prevent a repeat. That would be a mistake. If they aspire to be the best in the world, then they need to stay open to all comers.

The PGA actually anticipates a movement to change the written bylaws of the tour. This is the same group who fought to keep Casey Martin from using a golf cart on the tour.

Someone needs to remind them that they’ve got some of the best jobs in the world – being paid to play a sport that they love. Point out that hiding from women golfers does wonders for their image. And tell them that the tour sponsors have already had enough of Martha Burk without them pouring gas on the fire.

I’ve watched zero non-major tournaments in the past ten years – but I’ll be watching the Colonial today. Tighten the rules on sponsor exemptions if necessary. But don’t insult us by letting people like Mark Rypien play while keeping a player as talented as Sorenstam out.