Software, in general, actually began as open source, and free to distribute among anyone who wanted to use it.
Bill Gates came along in the 70's and started lobbying for selling code, rather than just giving it away. There was a lot of backlash then, and it hasn't really stopped.
It's not about having a different OS--most developers and admins agree that choice is good. It's about MS' attitude towards the community that created their attitude towards MS.
Bill Gates came along in the 70's and started lobbying for selling code, rather than just giving it away. There was a lot of backlash then, and it hasn't really stopped.
Imagine what the software landscape would look like if there just wasn't any money to be made in programming.