For almost any payware, there is a free version that is just as feature inclusive available.
If there are two products with the same features AND the same level of user interface, and one is free, the only reason for going to the payware one is to have phone support available. At least, that's the only reason I can think of why people still buy the overpriced, bloated piece of crap that is Microsoft Office.
My problem is that since I've switched to using a Mac, it seems that everything one would want to do costs money. That's the part that is failed to be stated when one purchases a Mac. You can go on and on about how when purchasing a Mac "its not really that much more" or even "it might be cheaper" but in reality, there is a severe lack of free software for the Mac, and that, to me is a problem.
There is so much free stuff that comes with the Mac that you don't need to add a whole lot. 99% of what I do could be included in the group of things that Apple includes for free plus an office suite (whether you use the $399 M$, $79 iWork like I do, or a free solution). That includes web surfing, email, audio and video editing/archiving/DVD production, flying club financials (QuickBooks), personal organization, entertainment, photo editing and archiving, online chat, development, backup, and "productivity".
I also have a bunch of free stuff on my Mac, but it tends to be stuff that I don't use much.
If you want to find free (and commercial) software for the Mac, go to
http://www.versiontracker.com/. There's a ton of it.
The only payware on my Mac:
BBEdit (a way-cool, well-written text editor - I'm still running v6.5, current is v9.1 and it still works like a charm)
CrossOver (windows emulator - no copy of Win needed, which is why I got it. Works like crap for most applications, but worked for the one I used to need it for.)
Dark Castle 3 (awesome game)
iWork '08 (Pages word processor, Numbers spreadsheet, Keynote presentation)
Audio Hijack Pro (there's also a free Audio Hijack)
Frankly, given that EVERYTHING I do on my machine is covered almost entirely by either freely included stuff or free stuff from elsewhere, I don't think the Mac is really lacking too much free software. I don't know that any of my free stuff is open source, but who cares?
Quite the contrary. There are plenty of things that should warrant being paid for....Operating Systems, Enterprise Levels of software, commercial use software, etc. But not an emulator....not an essential piece of software like an office suite, either.
Why should an "essential" piece of software be free?
I would think that an essential piece of software would be the type of thing you should be most willing to pay for.
