The point about all else being equal, Matt would choose the free over the proprietary is a good one-- that's more or less how I feel as well. Matt, if you're l

The point about all else being equal, Matt would choose the free over the proprietary is a good one-- that's more or less how I feel as well. Matt, if you're listening: do you pirate a lot of software? (I don't mean this as an accusation; I'm genuinely curious. If I had to guess, I'd guess no, but who knows? (Uh, you do). I also realize that there's a reasonably good chance that you won't want to answer "Yes, I pirate all of Adobe's products," or whatever, in public, even if it's true.) Most people I know don't mind pirating software and don't think about DRM until it stops them from doing what they want. I think that's one reason that free software has, in many cases, failed to beat proprietary software.