I’m not a big fan of Microsoft products (except MS Office, which is awesome). I do use open source software.

Of course MS gives out free software. Of course they want to get people hooked to the software. They’re a business. If they didn’t do that, they’d be a pretty pathetic business. They need to make money.

Now what you said about educational institutes teaching proprietary stuff makes sense. IMO, institutes shouldn’t be relying entirely on closed source software for instructional purposes. Yes, in certain cases, this is unavoidable- for instance, when you have to do 3D modelling, there are very few good alternatives to closed source software like CATIA, Pro/E, Solidworks, etc. But when excellent alternatives do exist that are being widely used, students should not be restricted to only the closed source options.

For instance, it is important for the average core engineer to know how to use MATLAB- it is one of the most widely used numerical computing packages in the industry. But when great options like Scilab and Octave exist, it is important that the student know how to use them as well. MATLAB commercial licenses are typically very expensive. And there’s no guarantee that the student will join a firm that is doing well enough to be able to purchase MATLAB.

So while it is necessary to teach students how to use certain widely used commercial packages so that the student has a chance in the market, it is just as important to teach students how to use alternatives.