Just read a nice piece of advice for (any) business-starters that also applies to freelancers :) It is called: "Starting a new business, 5 reasons to avoid Microsoft now!" and the reasons are:

5.) Microsoft software is unnecessarily expensive.
4.) There is better (free) software for just about everything.
3.) Microsoft Windows is inherently insecure.
2.) Microsoft software is slower than most open source software.
1.) Microsoft’s method of dealing with licensing violations.

In conclusion: "It is so hard to break yourself away from Microsoft once you start using them, I suggest to stop while you’re small or don’t start to begin with. Even if you can only get rid of Microsoft Office, you’re going in the right direction."

I couldn't agree more! Check the article, it's short and informative.

source: http://www.ecommerce-blog.org/archives/starting-a-new-business-5-reasons...