Still, I welcome our rain-making overlords.
Because there are developments that require years and millions of $, think pharmaceuticals.
Software must not be patentable. Why? Because with software patents it is possible to monopolize mathematical concepts, see http://vimeo.com/11206098
the "locked down, walled garden" that it is, is SIGNIFICANTLY more free for most people than something like Android or Linux in general. What good is the small bit of additional "freedom" to people who can't benefit from it?
What you are talking about isn't freedom but possibilities and a completely different matter. For beginners an idiot-proof user interface is the most important thing, for advanced users it is freedom. This is nicely reflected in iOS/Android sales.
Please keep in mind that there is a difference between isolated data and data linked (or just linkable) to other data sets. And no, that's not "the same", it is a different quality.
Also, it's different if the data is collected on servers of someone who will never give it to someone else unless legally forced to or someone who will pass it on to certain agencies or even sell it to the highest bidder.
He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion