[sgt]

"Commercial support" as a selling point is really overrated. You can always get commercial support in any case, from FreeBSD specialists for hire. Apart from that, normal users will always be able to get support from the mailing lists, forums and so on. I'm happy with FreeBSD and there's nothing stopping me from using it both personally and for my businesses. I am not interested in FreeBSD on the desktop, however.

[munchhausen]

No commercial support makes the software a non-starter in most IT environments, that's the (sad) reality. FreeBSD is a good example of why that is a problem - while technically sound, it is at risk of becoming a fringe OS used only by a couple of enthusiasts and FreeBSD developers themselves. For a project that produces an OS, that is a big issue, since you need users to make sure your OS works on various hardware configurations, or else you will become an "experimental" OS like Plan 9.

[sgt]

With FreeBSD being so mature and old as it is, I think it's a given that the chance that it will continue for many years to come is very high. Sure enough, the risk is higher than going with "mainstream" Linux, but if you have the expertise, especially within the business, then it's a no-brainer if you will clearly benefit from all the great things FreeBSD has to offer. We're running FreeBSD with jails and ZFS etc. on a lot of servers and we're very happy with it. It's not hard for a Linux expert to pick up on. Anyway, that's my opinion.