Re:Again (Score 1)

Companies don't simply compare features and cost when looking at OSS versus M$, but rather look at the affect on their bottom line. Even the most expensive M$ products, such as SQL Server Enterprise Edition at about $25k, are less expensive than hiring one devloper for one year. The most important factor is the gain in revenue and productivity attributed to a product. Let's assume developers are 3% more efficient on average using VS than a free IDE. If you have 20 developers in your company who on average make $65k/year the 3% efficiency gain translates to about $45k/year. While this example is overly simplistic with no statistical evidence, you get the idea: the cost of purchasing commercial software is not necessarily the most important factor for businesses.