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When you use Windows, you're subscribing to a software model that looks like this:
- Protect our intellectual property.
- Separate the user from his money, or dupe him into viewing ads (for any product more important than a small utility).
- Ease of use.
- Answering customer needs.
- Fixing bugs.
- Answering the programmer's need.
- Compliance with open standards.
Point 2 here is especially important because it's the driving force behind genius moves like Windows Vista and Office 2007. That is to say, they'll make you buy new versions even if you don't need a new version. Point 1 can be annoying to Orwellian extents, but thankfully this is not the only model, and it is often circumvented.
Here's what the free software model looks like, for contrast:
- Protect the user's freedom.
- Answering the programmer's need.
- Fixing bugs. / Compliance with open standards. / Ease of use. / Answering user needs.
The bottom four come in inconsistent order, and sometimes there is a big gap between #2 and #3. You sometimes have to rely on whether the programmer is a sane person who thinks like you do. But #1 is solid: free software is there for you to enjoy, redistribute, and fix if you want.