- Windows is not free
- MATLAB (and especially it's toolboxes) are not free
- academic access to commercial software is not free
- publishing in open access journals is not free
Even though it is more difficult, takes more time and could even be career counter productive, I believe that development in Life Science software (a foundation/basic activity) should be as unrestricted (widely available) as possible.
The question of course is how does one try to convey this to funders, reviewers etc - who are embedded in a more affluent environment - that this is a valid consideration.
A more general question is whether it is worth the effort of developing a freely available tool when one can quickly whip up the code in something like MATLAB (or any other software based on a commercial platform)? In the end this starts to look like more like an ethical question e.g. "Science and Society" than a practical one. of course whether practicing research Scientists should be concerning themselves with this sort of dilemma is up to the individual.