[falcor84]

I don't think that's a hard requirement.

Spreadsheets for example became normal technology long before we had a good open source one. And arguably we still don't have an open source one that's more powerful than the closed source ones.

[tilne]

I agree with you. I think OP’s point becomes more valid if you limit the discussion to tools used while developing/maintaining software, as opposed to tools used by a wider audience.

I don’t fully believe that either, but I see where the point would come from.