The idea behind "free" software is that the source-code is freely available to use and/or alter as desired, without restrictions.

It isn't about mooching.

Some companies pay their employees to write free software. In academic environments, it is normally the case that one makes results, including code, freely available. I understand that isn't identical to apps for a phone, but the grotesque mischaracterization of the free software ideal is what I found most objectionable, including the ideas that the products are by necessity inferior, and that whoever writes such software is a chump.