The entire tone of this op-ed strikes me as either impossibly naive or full of manufactured outrage. How a Forbes contributor is somehow oblivious to the nature of entrenched (and lucrative) corporate relationships is beyond me.
Not to mention that beneath all the free-market rah-rah chest thumping, he entirely disregards the fact that a private company is quite within their right, laws permitting, to decide with whom they wish to do business.
Source: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/173743/what-t... http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2012/10/06/how-to...
From someone in my family that owns one, some flavors are good while others (fake Dr. Pepper, for example) are horrible.
Compared to bottled/canned soda, you're right that there are high up-front costs and an eventual break-even point to using a SodaStream.
Compared to the more DIY version of buying a CO2 tank and the proper fittings to carbonate a 1- or 2-liter bottle (all easily found at a homebrewing store), the opposite is true: the initial buy-in of a SodaStream is about half the price of a CO2 tank and dual-gauge regulator, but refill prices for a 5lb tank are pennies on the dollar compared to SodaStream's refill cartridges. SodaStream's ultimately a razor and blades business model.
1. http://www.amazon.com/Sodastream-Fountain-Soda-Maker-Starter...