If you've been an Open Source advocate for any significant amount of time, you've no doubt heard someone say, with a sneer in their voice, "You get what you pay for". Let it be noted, I really hate that cliche. It does make me think, however, about what you really get when you purchase the license to use a commercial operating system like Windows or OSX. Here are some things the operating systems themselves offer for the money:

What Windows & OSX Provide

* Consistent interface
* Standard API interfaces
* System updates, at least for a significant amount of time
* Rudimentary applications (Safari, IE, Wordpad, Textedit)
* Tech support (often additional cost though)

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