Should you ever pay for Linux? 5 times I would - and why

Randall Fung/Getty Images Even though Linux has always been free, I've paid for the OS in various ways over the years. I've seen distributions come and go, most of which were free, but some had an associated cost. In some cases, those costs were nothing more than a suggested donation, but in others, the only way to get a copy of the OS was to pay for it. You might be thinking, "Why would you pay for something that's free?" I've had my reasons, which I'll share with you. Let's see if there's one that might entice you to share a few shekels. Also: 10 Linux apps I install on every new machine (and why you should, too) 1. Support Linux has a vast support community, including forums, mailing lists, and social networking groups. Not everyone is comfortable using such routes for technical support and would feel more confident paying a company. If such support is important, you can use big providers such as Red Hat, Canonical, and SUSE. Other organizations also offer Linux support, whic ... Read full article.