The issue is not "threat" but is functionality and availability. I remember getting most of the Micro$oft stuff for free and after Windows 95 (2K) being shifted into a cycle of purchasing the product and license for use. Having been in personal computers since they were Xerox 820's I remember the slow and steady shift away from "stuff we wrote" and "stuff that was standard." The standard shift from the real and defined standard to something Microsoft wanted was where BSD license and open source became the right alternative. It is more than free, it is part of "me."