SpringSource support pricing - nothing free - like free lunch?

Interesting article about SpringSource support pricing http://java.dzone.com/articles/the-cost-springsource-enterpri

Obviously, the company has to get revenues from something but it is good to remember that some free stuff can finally cost more than their commercial equivalent products.

Also some comments of the article about the source repository and the possibility to get fixes without a support contract are relatively pertinent.

I say relatively because my experience is that even with subscription and support contracts, small companies have difficulties to get their problem recognized by some vendors.

My feeling however is that SpringSource plays the classical commercial Java game - meaning the pricing is not clearly displayed and replaced by "contact sales".

Again this is complicated for small companies and makes comparison very difficult. So watch before to take a technical decision and don't forget that the relation with the vendor also matters.