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Software
1972 · Film · short · 3 min
Directed by Al Razutis
In 'Software', the pixel lights of the industrialized world (electrical power) are re-formed in the speckles and patterned light of the video screen: a metaphor for energy as information transfer, but still at the service of the power structure. This short film is also used as head title of Amerika (1983) and is presented as placeholder, with video screens awaiting programs.
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A beautiful vision.
If the vision were true, we should see it happen with normal goods too. Quality physical goods do not beat the shit goods in the market : crap furniture is the canonical example (with blog articles discussing the issue).
Software (and movies) is free for subsequent copies, so at first sight you might think software is completely different from physical goods.
However for most factory produced goods, designing and building the factory is the major cost. The marginal cost of producing each copy of an item might be reasonably low (highly dependent on raw materials and labor costs?).
Many expensive physical goods are dominated by the initial design costs, so an expensive Maserati might be complete shit (bought for image status or Veblen reasons, not because it is high quality). There's a reason why the best products are often midrange. The per unit 2..n reproduction cost of cheap physical goods is always low almost by definition.
Some parts of iPhone software are high quality (e.g. the security is astounding). Some parts are bad. Apple monetisation adds non-optional features that have negative value to me: however those features have positive value to Apple.