eWEEK, I think you've missed the point of the GPL

Quoting http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1754298,00.asp -
> We agree with Gates' argument that the case for "free" should not
> be oversimplified. Software costs only begin with the acquisition
> of a license, free or otherwise.
 
The reason so many South American, African and Asian countries are
falling over themselves to adopt FOSS is very simple: it gives them
back control of their countries, and their economies.
 
Anyone paying any attention to the South Americans would have noticed
how often they mention that one copy of MS-Office equals so many bags
of this or that export product. This is something that I wish my own
country (Australia) would do.
 
Simple issues like outright cost are overwhelmed by the sheer ability
FOSS grants the locals. Linux, GNOME, KDE and other major items have
already been internationalised for communities with less than one tenth
of the population of the smallest language group ever internationalised
in MS-Windows or MS-Office. Security agencies, the military and so on
can examine and change every byte of the software that their systems
run, without going cap-in-hand to a foreign business and signing their
life away. Locals can work on local projects with rudimentary equipment
and without shelling out several years' wages for any development kits
or distribution rights.
 
These advantages are only representative of the huge number of
advantages to FOSS. Microsoft can never foreseeably be "agile" enough
to meet more than a small number of these needs, or even to publicly
admit that they exist.
 
With a very few showcase exceptions, Microsoft and their customers
assume adversarial positions; with FOSS, the customers _are_ the
developers, the management and the marketing department. They don't
need anyone to ask them where they want to go today, they just go.
 
Cheers; Leon
 
--
http://cyberknights.com.au/ Modern tools; traditional dedication
http://plug.linux.org.au/ Member, Perth Linux User Group
http://osia.net.au/ Member, Open Source Industry Australia
http://slpwa.asn.au/ Member, Linux Professionals WA
http://linux.org.au/ Member, Linux Australia