Let's say that back in the day the letter Bill Gates wrote to the Home Brew Computer Club about paying for software sunk in and there was no such thing as free software.
How much would you be willing to pay for things like a browser or instant messengers or media players?
Can you imagine a world without freeware or shareware?
Do you think software would be better if it had to be paid for?
(By the way, this isn't a question about the pros and cons of open source)