buying what's free

wired.com points to a counterintuitive phenomenon: content widely available for free on the internet still racks up sales in the bookstores.

'The conventional wisdom was, of course, if I give it away for free no one's going to buy it,' said Peter Watts, a biologist and writer who attempted unsuccessfully to persuade his publisher, Tor Science Fiction, to let him put his novels online for free.
Watts, who does publish free short fiction on his website, disputes that notion. If people get free access to a novel, they're more likely to begin reading it. And once they begin reading, provided it holds their attention, they'll probably buy the book.

this may change as technology for transportable and markable ebooks become more popular. but i, for one, prefer to have paper in front of me to hold and highlight.

update: wired.com reports on this phenomenon in the music world, featuring an interview with wilco frontman jeff tweedy.