| 1 |
On 22 Mar 2010, at 22:09, Alan McKinnon wrote: |
| 2 |
>>> .... |
| 3 |
>>> There is nothing unfair about this. No vendor has a *duty* so sell |
| 4 |
>>> you |
| 5 |
>>> what you want and they cannot be forced to. Microsoft does not |
| 6 |
>>> enforce |
| 7 |
>>> that vendors sell Windows-only machines (and they proved as such |
| 8 |
>>> to the |
| 9 |
>>> relevant Commission). ... |
| 10 |
>> |
| 11 |
>> Well you I'll have to agree with you that it's not unfiar or |
| 12 |
>> anything else |
| 13 |
>> as such. I do however think that it would be benefitial to the |
| 14 |
>> consumer if |
| 15 |
>> the market was more open than it's current state. That being said |
| 16 |
>> we do |
| 17 |
>> have the option to buy costumized computers without the MS tax. |
| 18 |
> |
| 19 |
> It's not all dark in this tunnel. There is light at the end, and no, |
| 20 |
> it's not |
| 21 |
> the train's headlights ;-) |
| 22 |
> |
| 23 |
> Customer demand is still the best way to get providers to change their |
| 24 |
> offerings. We who want OS-less machines, or machines with Linux, |
| 25 |
> might be few |
| 26 |
> today, but that doesn't have to be true for tomorrow. |
| 27 |
|
| 28 |
The problem is that manufacturers subsidise the cost of the PC by |
| 29 |
preinstalling junk on them. |
| 30 |
|
| 31 |
They install Norton or McAfee anti-virus with a "free" 3 month |
| 32 |
subscription, because Norton or McAfee give them a kickback. I would |
| 33 |
imagine this is in the region of $10 - $20. They install desktop |
| 34 |
shortcuts to eBay, to Big Fish Games (or whatever it's called) set the |
| 35 |
browser's homepage and the default search shows more ads than useful |
| 36 |
results. They probably get a penny a click on those, but over the |
| 37 |
lifetime of a computer, this can add up. |
| 38 |
|
| 39 |
In all I wouldn't be surprised if the crapware on a new PC pays more |
| 40 |
than the Windows license costs the manufacturer. Selling PCs with a |
| 41 |
blank hard-drive would cost them money, therefore! The cost of porting |
| 42 |
browser toolbars and "search redirect" hijackers to enable them to |
| 43 |
sell Linux-based PCs is just not worth the effort, and a Linux user is |
| 44 |
more likely to uninstall them, anyway. |
| 45 |
|
| 46 |
Manufacturers accept that some of the PCs they sell will have Windows |
| 47 |
wiped and Linux installed, but they don't have to like or encourage |
| 48 |
it. :( |
| 49 |
|
| 50 |
I very much dislike Microsoft's abuse of its monopoly position, but I |
| 51 |
don't have any easy answers right now. |
| 52 |
|
| 53 |
Stroller. |
Archives