As for copying their neihbours apps, they wouldnt need to with Ubuntu etc, you simply go "shopping" with the package manager (and its 100% legal). As for 'downloading stuff' the tools are the same sort as on windows.
That's again the "free as in free beer" more important than the always pin pointed "free as in free speech". Do you recognize that even in the freeware department there are a lot more alternatives on windows than on Linux, so that you can do the exact same thing on windows and use commercial counterparts only if you want to?