Half of these issues are really about Ruby on Rails, not so much Linux. Java could fit the bill for most of his requirements just as well as a Microsoft stack (and probably cheaper).
Few of these points are particularly compelling.<p>The problem with Bizspark is that it does eventually run out, and once it does you have to license all of those Windows Server/SQL Server installs just like everyone else, which isn't cheap. When that day comes, you'd better have the margins to support a sudden rise in software costs.<p>That said, if everyone else where you live is doing MS development, it is going to be a lot easier to hire people if you do the same.