If you want to sell business software these days, then you better demonstrate a clear cut return on investment. And I think that most of those who supported the new Moveable Type license thought along these lines: I want the value of the software to exceed its price or fair is what a buyer and a seller agree to exchange based on the value. But I don’t think that the personal software buyer thinks that way.

Here’s one way we think different: we don’t like metered service. We worry more about the peaks than the average. Give us a choice between metered and unlimited service and we’ll go with unlimited. We get flat rate local phone service even though many of us would save with a per call plan. We love Netflix because we’re never overdue.

Once we’ve experienced unlimited service, the genie is out of the bottle. Try to take it back, and we’ll vote with our feet. Because someone else will offer it and they’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.