Is the Windows dev environment worth the cost?
I recently made the move from Linux development to Windows development.  And as much of a Linux enthusiast that I am, I have to say - C# is a beautiful language, Visual Studio is terrific, and now that I've bought myself a [trackball][1] my wrist has stopped hurting from using the mouse so much.

But there's one thing I can't get past: the cost.  Windows 7, Visual Studio, SQL Server, Expression Blend, ViEmu, Telerik, MSDN - we're talking thousands for each developer on the project!  You're definitely getting something for your money - my question is, is it worth it?  [Not every developer needs all the aforementioned tools - but have you ever heard of anyone writing C# code without Visual Studio?  I've worked on pretty large software projects in Linux without having to pay for any development tool whatsoever.] 

Now obviously, if you're already a Windows shop, it doesn't pay to retrain all your developers.  And if you're looking to develop a Windows desktop app, you just can't do that in Linux.  But if you were starting a new web application project and could hire developers who are experts in whatever languages you want, would you still choose Windows as your development platform despite the high cost?  And if yes, why?

  [1]: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Trackman-Trackball-optical-button/dp/B00005NIMJ
Is the Windows dev environment worth the cost?
===

I recently made the move from Linux development to Windows development.  And as much of a Linux enthusiast that I am, I have to say - C# is a beautiful language, Visual Studio is terrific, and now that I've bought myself a [trackball][1] my wrist has stopped hurting from using the mouse so much.

But there's one thing I can't get past: the cost.  Windows 7, Visual Studio, SQL Server, Expression Blend, ViEmu, Telerik, MSDN - we're talking thousands for each developer on the project!  You're definitely getting something for your money - my question is, is it worth it?  [Not every developer needs all the aforementioned tools - but have you ever heard of anyone writing C# code without Visual Studio?  I've worked on pretty large software projects in Linux without having to pay for any development tool whatsoever.] 

Now obviously, if you're already a Windows shop, it doesn't pay to retrain all your developers.  And if you're looking to develop a Windows desktop app, you just can't do that in Linux.  But if you were starting a new web application project and could hire developers who are experts in whatever languages you want, would you still choose Windows as your development platform despite the high cost?  And if yes, why?

  [1]: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Trackman-Trackball-optical-button/dp/B00005NIMJ