Re: [tlug] Re: Post my article on tlug.jp?

["Lyle H Saxon" <llletters@example.com>]

On 7/28/07, Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com> wrote:
> > Let me get this straight - your money was taken from you without you
> > having a choice, therefore it wasn't taken?
>
> Basically, yes. The presence of Windows on the machine I'm typing on
> right now was not a factor in the purchase; I would not have paid extra
> for Windows, and I would have happily paid the same for the machine if
> without-Windows were the only option. So for me, Windows was just a free
> bonus thrown in.

Sophistry.  It was not a free bonus thrown in!  Microsoft sold the OS
to the manufacturer and the manufacturer passed that cost on to you.
Because it wasn't itemized and because you don't think about it
doesn't mean it was free.  Even if the manufacturer took the hit and
didn't pass the cost of the OS on to you, that still isn't free in the
Big Picture.  The manufacturer either makes some money off of their
hardware or they go out of business.  This is one of the most
irritating aspects to the MS issue.  If someone gives you a box of MS
software, but no computer, there is absolutely nothing you can do with
it.  If they give you a computer with no software, you can load in
(some kind of) software.  Manufacturers deserve more credit and profit
for their hardware.  Thin profits on hardware lead to things like the
exploding capacitors and burning battery issues that have come up.

Lyle