Russ is ranting, but yes, he is right:

Maybe it’s because I straddle the Web and Mobile worlds why I think this is such an issue. I deal with companies every day who have no qualms about charging 25 cents to send 160 characters of data from one person to another, or who have no problems charging $3.00 for a 10kb .gif image or a bad .midi version of a popular song, or even up to $10.00 for a small Java clone of Tetris - a 20 year old game. Unlike the web world, the mobile world is accustomed to charging for every thing that has the slightest bit of value. The difference between the markets couldn’t be more drastic.

How long will all this cool web 2.0. stuff last without making some decent money? Where are the metrics for the Ajax stuff? And is selling out to Yahoo, Google or Robert Rupert Murdoch the only way to survive in this bubbly times?

One should make money when he provides value/meaning and somehow I think the middle ground between "free" internet and "expensive" mobile should be found. It would be good for both worlds.

PS: A good example that something is a bit problematic are weblogs. People invest tremendous hours of their life writing, commenting, putting up pictures, video and audio and still they consider it normal to get the tool without which this wouldn't be possible for free. Don't get me wrong, I believe weblogs shouldn't be too costly otherwise they couldn't be the democratic tools they are, but the fact that people don't pay for them - money being a simple, but accepted exchange good - is also a kind of hidden disrespect for the work of the people who create and maintain soft- and hardware.