I'm not really sure I understand the outrage here. Just because the marginal cost of something is low/zero doesn't mean companies shouldn't charge for it.
Should an indie software developer using a freemium model be crucified because the binary they ship already contains the code for full functionality? Of course not. The cost is in developing the binary, not in manufacturing it. Same goes for silicon.
Also, "rent seeking" does not mean what most people in this thread seem to think it does. Economic rents are a very specific phenomenon and it simply does not mean charging for something that is perceived as being low/no effort.
Should an indie software developer using a freemium model be crucified because the binary they ship already contains the code for full functionality? Of course not. The cost is in developing the binary, not in manufacturing it. Same goes for silicon.
Also, "rent seeking" does not mean what most people in this thread seem to think it does. Economic rents are a very specific phenomenon and it simply does not mean charging for something that is perceived as being low/no effort.