i heard that software like Stata and R usually start out free but once all the bugs are fixed they start charging.
Will R always be free?
-
No. Its a bait and switch gimmick.
What nonsense. Bait and switch by whom? It is open source. There is no one to bait and switch.
Stata is totally different, was always developed and controlled by Stata.I'm absolutely certain that its a bait and switch. I know one of R top brass and he told me the plan.
-
R itself will always, I believe, be free (beer and speech). Several companies sell R-related software (RStudio is moving to a Continuum Analytics/Enthought model where they offer software for free (at least for individuals) and then charge lots of money for support. This is basically Revolutions' model as well - although they do also add some non-free R packages (as well as a not particularly great IDE).
Anyway, even if future versions of R did somehow change the license, they can't retroactively change the license for R <3.1.0. So anything you can do in R 3.1.0 you will be able to do in perpetuity.