Whether it will turn out that way, however, depends on two groups: customers, who may have got used to the current, lax regime, and techno-anarchists, who think all software should be free.

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Instead, Jobs promised a free software update for all iPhones that will let them find their location using a redesigned Maps application.

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As such, all software is currently given away for free and any code developed remains open-sourced.

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But Lucas got what he wanted: A key provision of the deal provided that Lucas would receive royalty-free use of all advances Pixar made on the software.

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David Harrison, a 23-year-old hacker in Belfast, Northern Ireland, claims to be the first to package the procedure in an all-inclusive piece of software that can be downloaded for free.

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All the 3.1 million tracks in the Amazon store are free of DRM software.

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Google will likely give all its software writing attention to its own X-Phone which means the free Android will take a back seat in terms of updates and newer versions.

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Of course, the NS7 II is all MIDI compatible, so if your software of choice is something else, then you are free to map and a buse as you wish.

ENGADGET

The news is not all good with some firms, such as Mandrake, experiencing financial problems as they struggle to find ways of making free software pay.

BBC: The Sopranos, AP