In our case, we'd purchased anti-virus software to run on one computer in our office. After discovering that only US customers could purchase the product online, we bought a copy at a retail store without a second thought.

Within two week we ran into major problems. While rebooting the computer to complete a virus definitions update, the computer stopped rebooting into Windows. We needed technical support to get our machine running again.

We have several computers in our office, so we logged on to the software manufacturer's website to get in touch with a support technician via email. No go.

As it turns out, the retail versions of the product – the only versions available to Canadian customers – did not include online technical support. Our only option, according to the website, was to call a technical support line at a cost of US$2.50 per minute. Considering that this product was priced in the CAN$50 range and we could expect to pay about US$30 for one phonecall, the cost of the software program had just increased significantly.

What really astounded us was that the U$2.50 charge applied not only while we were talking to a technician, but that after the first two minutes on hold we would be charged US$2.50 a minute while waiting for a technician to pick up the phone!

In our case, there was no way we were going to risk paying for 10 or so minutes of hold time at those prices. Instead, we scoured the Net for information on our problem, pinpointed the issue, and fixed the computer. But we're technically savvy folks. I'm sure that many others would have been forced to use phone support, possibly racking up an expensive phone bill in order to get their computer running again.

What is the lesson in all of this? When comparing software programs, don't forget to compare the support that is offered by each company. You may find that the cost of one support call could make a world of difference on the final price of each program you are considering