[alf]

As a programmer, would I choose to be a member of a community based on open and free information, one where contributions are open to all of humanity, or a community built to feed the bottom line of a large corporation? Especially considering large profits are possible with with both, why would I choose the latter?

[xradionut]

Many non-OSS software programs have a huge community to help developers/users/admins. MSSQL is a good example. You pay for development, support and documentation in addition to lining Redmonds pockets.

In the enterprise the cost of software is a small portion of expenses compared to the cost of developers. For a startup or smaller business, things can be different. But there are large chucks of the software development universe where there aren't OSS solutions, nobody wants to donate their time to do the grunge work.

[jroseattle]

This assumes that everything else is equal.

If the scope of what you're doing is such that all other things in consideration are actually equal, you have a very narrow view.