The wsj column is misleading.<p>Gladwell did not say "Apple will soon be making more money from iPhone downloads than it does from the iPhone itself."<p>Here is what he said:
"Apple may soon make more money selling iPhone downloads (ideas) than it does from the iPhone itself (stuff). The company could one day give away the iPhone to boost downloads; it could give away the downloads to boost iPhone sales; or it could continue to do what it does now, and charge for both. Who knows? The only iron law here is the one too obvious to write a book about, which is that the digital age has so transformed the ways in which things are made and sold that there are no iron laws"<p>Overall, I agree with one of the key points of Gladwell's review (of the "Free: The Future of a Radical Price" book) - a point that Friedman made a long time ago - There is no such thing as a free lunch.<p>Here is one extract from his review "Credit Suisse estimates that YouTube will lose close to half a billion dollars this year. If it were a bank, it would be eligible for TARP funds."