You're likely talking about desktop software and OS, because open-source and free dev platforms are successful. I myself, after being a .NET guru a couple of years now creating more and more stuff in PHP5 and node.js and I'm totally happy with them. But for OS yes, for average user those free ones really suck. I remember trying to setup XBMC on ZBox with Ubuntu - every single feature caused issues. To get proper sound I spent half of a day sitting with command line. After 2 days of fight, I gave up and installed Windows XP where I did not have to do anything - it just started working out f the box. So, for average user or for person that does not want to waste time with command line (like me) free OS is not an option. I need a complete product, not a DIY Lego parts.