Z:gnu-www-ja-google-engineering-talk--1aa090-Proprietary software typically/en

Proprietary software typically means a monopoly for support. Only the developer has the source code in most cases, so only the developer can offer any support. If you want a change, you've got to go to the developer and beg. Now, if you're very big and important, maybe the developer will pay attention. If you're not, the developer will say, "go away, don't bother me." Or maybe the developer will say, "pay us and we'll let you report a bug." And if you do that, the developer will say, "thank you. In six months there will be an upgrade. Buy the upgrade and you'll see if this bug was fixed and you will see what new bugs we have for you."