realtively cheap
(Microsoft Office: $)
(Auto-CAD: $)

relatively expensive
(pay for specialist’s time: 3 to 6 months)
(may cost tens of thousands of dollars)

readily available

may have to wait weeks or months

already tested by thousands of users

untested by users

cheap (or free) support is available
(manual, online, telephone, discussion group,…)

support costs
(high rates per hour)

familiar to your friends

unfamiliar to everyone

may NOT do exactly what is required
(up to 25% to work around)

does exactly what is required

may have to change the way you work
(see cell above)

It may work as initally planned.
(No change is necessary.)

may be difficult to modify beyond menu options, such as Settings…, or Tools/Customise… or Tools/Preferences…, depending upon the application

may be impossible to modify