The old expression "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" implies that we think we would be happier in a different set of circumstances and that the realities on that other side of the fence are seldom evident of much difference in our happiness. Such was the case for me over the past couple of weeks as I looked hard at QGIS. As for why bother looking, read Is It Here We Dare To Opine? Perhaps the old proverb should instead be an admonition: escalating costs will always reflect how, when and why we perceive.
There is no question that this open source GIS program has made great advancements over the five years since I last looked into it (and other open source GISware) before settling on Global Mapper sometime around the end of 2009. The QGIS v2.0.1 user interface is well organized and quite beautiful to look at, but it also crashed twice within the first hour whilst simply fiddling around resizing its sundry docked components.
Since its user forum was disbanded about two years ago, QGIS support options are limited to an email list and the most stoic gis.stackexchange where questions are highly policed, frequently edited by others and opinions are absolutely banned.
We all have our foibles and strengths, but for now at its present price point and for myself, there remains only one clear choice: Global Mapper. Mike's work on this program has been and continues to be an amazing accomplishment. His support is unparalleled and his presence on this forum to that end is such an incredible gift to our community - thank you Mike Childs! Keep up the good work - and welcome back from a well deserved vacation - iOlé!