What is free?

This week has been exciting in the PC world with the long-awaited release of the new operating system, Vista. (I gave Moses a Defrag instead.) More to my liking is the release of a new version of OneNote - a totally excellent program for just about any organising need. Although my heart says to go out and purchase the new one immediately the rest of me said download the free trial version. Hence the title question. What is free? I think if you have to provide anything to effect the deal then it is not free. Even if that is information. (People don't sell information for nothing you know.) So by the time I was able to download the trial I had been asked, inexpertly in a North American eccentric form, to provide employment type information which is irrelevant to my private home use of a software program. Way to not make people enjoy the prospect of playing with you MS. That being said I can't wait to get home to try it out.