Another question becomes "if knowsofts are just software, why are they expensive"?

Possibilities:

Open-source (as well as hacked) Knowsofts are readily available; maybe only up to rating 3.
Open-source or hacked Knowsofts are highly illegal.
Cheaper Knowsofts often include crazy weird problems (reduce the number of 1's needed for a glitch or critical glitch)
Cheaper Knowsofts are supported with ads (wait 3 IPs while savoring the mountain-grown aroma of Folger's coffee)
Hacked Knowsofts include intentional bugs/malware that sometimes makes them dangerous to use.
("Dangerous" can mean "Hungarian Phrasebook" dangerous up to "p-fix/brain-fry" dangerous).

i guess it depends on how you get your softs.

list price in the book is open market cost with competition. those softs are safe, and probably come hardwired to a chip you slot.
downloaded software, even if clean initially, is wide open to viruses in a way a hardwired chip is not.

that said- what happens if your program includes an intelligent-design bit of logic to it? could be any old crackpot theory- what if its not a well known crackpot theory? what if that engineering knowsoft you slotted includes completely fictitious information? or that medicine knowsoft has specific information just wrong enough so that you cannot safely do certain things... like mixing narcotics. and these errors could be set up to be introduced in any copy made from that hardwired chip.... you could be seriously screwed, in an expensive way, and not know it until its too late.

the best tricks are subtle. stuff that isnt obvious unless you already know the field- and if you know it, why use a knowsoft?

cheaper wares are simply more likely to be out of date or inacurate- which could mean a simple dice or threshold modifier to some situations but not others.

Wow b1ffov3rfl0w, you really want free knowsofts, huh? Realistically, there would be plenty of ways to get them for free (if modern software piracy is any example). In game, the reason you can't is because of game balance, plain and simple. If you want free knowsofts, work it out with your GM.

I'm interested in verisimilitude, actually. Knowsofts are ... well, sort of useful. Kind of like how Knowledge skills are sort of useful. It takes good writing to make a given knowledge skill important and useful without being absolutely essential, but they're worthwhile.

In a non-stressful situation, Data Search (or an Agent) or various Contacts can get the same thing done. It's not really a matter of wanting cheap/free knowsofts as it is saying "with technology x, why do we not see social response f(x)? Or, do we see that?". In a world that has nearly everyone online using AR nearly all the time, it is difficult to imagine people not taking advantage of that huge source of information.

A knowsoft is a bit different then a datasoft (which is very cheap).

You can get a datasoft with all the same information on it that a knowsoft has but it doesn't impart understanding. In other words raw data about say Magical Theory, Surgical Practices, or Quantam Mechanics doesn't do most people much good, but a knowsoft is much more then raw data, it lets you understand things you didn't understand before. It lets you grasp theories, technical terms, as well as basic knowledge without having to cross reference. When your character sees a Quantam Particle Accelerator or a Toxic Beast Spirit, your knowsoft imparts to you not only what it is, but possibly why it is, how it works, etc. etc. A datasoft you'd have to run search parameters to get this knowledge assuming you even knew where to start and once you found the information there's no guarantee you'd understand any of it.

Both can be pirated by the way and I generally assume part of the reason Knowsofts and Activesofts are so expensive is because of piracy. Just like in real life corporations pass on loss to the consumers.

Dang, I totally forgot about datasofts.

That renders all of this pretty much moot; I can now see exactly where datasofts would fit into this idea (something like "Reference Materials Available" basically). Thanks a bunch!

I'd be careful about slottin' free knowsofts off the matrix omae. You're talking about software designed to put notions in your mind. That free stuff as people said could be filled with all sorts of erroneous data. What if you slotted a world history knowsoft that happened to be brewed by some creationist trying to push his agenda on world history? And that's just the innocous problems. The chip your slot could easily turn into a personafix like software, things could get dicey if you're your sim mod hot when you slot something like that. And just like modern day questionable software has little adware addons these programs could have all sorts of crazy addons. If a chip can make you understand all the underlying factors that lead up to the american revolution, then a chip can make you understand that Ares equipment is superior to all other brands and give you the most bang per buck. Such a chip could alter your shopping habits in a subtle way and keep you from taking certain jobs. I can see insidious things like that being on a questionable knowsoft without it requiring a hot interface however such a chip would stop affecting you once you turn it off. Free knowsofts might give you foolish notions when slotted simple as that.

Yeah, Knowsofts and Datasofts *look* alike but act far, far differently.

For example, in my home now, I have acopy of Grey's Anatomy. Also Tsn Szu's Art of War. Anytime I need to know something, I can grab these 'Datasofts', flip around for a while, and eyeball it. Now, if I'd *slotted* them as knowsofts, say, "Grey's Medicine" and "Art of War, the Ares Way", I could glance at an infected wound, know what caused it, know the proper treatment, side-effects to watch out for, etc, and, hey, while I was at it, I could give them some advice about that nasty rash and advances in topical cream.

One gives you data, the other gives you *knowledge*.

Oh yeah, totally. Everyone's got an agenda, and I don't see why commercial knowsofts would be different (much more subtle, maybe). I think one of Effinger's novels from around 20 years ago has this in it.