Cost of a free lunch

The title sounds like an oxymoron, if the lunch is free; how can it have a cost attached to it.

Well, there is always a catch. Cost of a free lunch at a shiny startup means you are expected to put in long hours of work, free lunch at a wedding means you need to smile at everyone you meet, free lunch at a conference is given only once those boring lectures are over and the free lunch at a religious place is only served once you’ve gone through the stipulated rituals.

I am yet to come across a free lunch with no strings attached to it

Sure, there are a lot of free things in this world (like free software) but we often tend to forget the cost of a free software can far exceed the cost of a paid one in terms of business availability and reliability.

So next time you download a free movie, remember there is enough adware running in background to slow down your computer or even worse — there are cookies tracking your airline booking behaviour and showing you higher fare !

Bottomline : There are no free lunches !