But it's not worth too much to deal with crappy proprietary software?

I know a lot of open source software is a pain in the ass, but so is a lot of proprietary software. You use what you know, understand, and can support.

> "I'm a mechanic and I hand forge new spanners every time I work on a car."

This is a bad analogy. It's not like he's writing new software every time he has to do something. It's more like using tools that your machinist friends built.