Microsoft tries to block Linux off Windows 8 PCs

[Anthony de Boer]

Alex Gabriel wrote:
> If it comes to pass, then Linux users will be required to be more selective
> in their choice of hardware distributor. There are quite a few businesses
> that sell prebuilt machines without an operating system.

There was an M$ campaign against that a few years back, "Naked PC" or
something like that, claiming that anyone buying hardware only was
*obviously* going to install a pirated copy of Windows.  Now, I'm not
sure how much of that actually goes on, or the current state of the arms
race there, but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on that being less
prevalent than the number of Linux installs.

> Selling Windows as part of the computer purchase drives up the cost to all
> parties, especially the consumer.  Additionally, it increases the perceived
> market share of Microsoft because the numbers touted do not reflect
> instances where Windows is immediately removed by the user.

I've heard claims that the fees a hardware vendor collects for installing
third-party demo-ware (30-day-free antivirus and such) more than offsets
what they pay M$ for the underlying OS, so software is a profit centre
for them and it ends up being more favourable to do that than sell a
machine bare, with side benefit that installing something helps prove to
their QA and to the customer that the hardware actually boots.

I'm not sure it entirely bothers them if you install Linux on such a
box, since they did get to count it as a Windows sale, but making it
too easy to nuke the OS probably causes them support issues helping
people get it reinstalled, and the necessity of offering such support
and making Windows field-installable may be a toehold the pirates are
using to get Windows installed on other hardware.

> Really, this isn't much different than the tactics employed by Apple in
> regard to their computers. They force you to buy their hardware if you want
> the operating system.  Why is there no hue and cry against them?

Apple sells its own integrated systems, while there's a theoretically
hands-off third-party relationship between Microsoft and the PC hardware
vendors that ends up looking a tad cozy.

-- 
Anthony de Boer
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