"What exactly is the difference between giving away OpenOffice and giving away Microsoft Office? "
Simple:Sun gives it away to the everyday user, yes Sun still hopes that this will encourage people to buy other non-free(as in price) Sun products, but it is availible to everyone. Microsoft however, gives it away only if that is the only way to keep an account, and only to large groups. You will never see an individual user going to Microsoft sales office and saying, "I can't afford Windows so I'm going to use Linux instead" and hear the reply "Well, how about for $50, no? Then how about for free?"
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"What exactly is the difference between giving away OpenOffice and giving away Microsoft Office? "
Simple:Sun gives it away to the everyday user, yes Sun still hopes that this will encourage people to buy other non-free(as in price) Sun products, but it is availible to everyone. Microsoft however, gives it away only if that is the only way to keep an account, and only to large groups. You will never see an individual user going to Microsoft sales office and saying, "I can't afford Windows so I'm going to use Linux instead" and hear the reply "Well, how about for $50, no? Then how about for free?"