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

["Jonathan Byrne" <jonathan@example.com>]

On 7/28/2007, "Lyle H Saxon" <llletters@example.com> wrote:


>Windows is "free in many cases"?  Could you specify what these cases
>are exactly?  Your example of having your money taken from you without
>your permission, thus it is "free" is nonsense!

On thinking about this, I have to challenge it. Taking your money is when
someone presses a gun into your back and offers you a choice between
handing over your wallet and about 180 grains in weight.

Pre-installed Windows on a computer is more like buying a pair of jeans.
My Levis have rivets. I suspect they would work perfectly well without
rivets. Many other jeans don't have them and work just fine. If Levis
didn't have rivets they would be cheaper. However, with rivets is the
only way they come. If I go to a store and say I want Levis without
rivets, they might suggest I remove them myself (or they might suggest I
get out of their store and stop bothering them <g>), but they won't
sell me a pair without rivets.

They might also suggest that I buy a brand of jeans that doesn't come
with rivets. That will limit my selection, but it can be done. If I
really want Levis and will wear nothing else, then I have to pay the
"rivet tax" even if I don't like rivets.

Similarly, it is possible to buy a computer without Windows. Even a
laptop. This will limit your selection of course. You can get at least
some Dells without Windows (or Linux). But if I don't like <insert
brand here> and absolutely must have a Thinkpad (I can understand that;
Thinkpads are extremely good) and I don't want to buy one from Emperor
Linux, then I'm probably going to have to pay the Windows tax even if I
install Linux the day the machine arrives.

That's not taking my money, it's selling a single software
configuration. As Henry Ford put it, "You can have any color you want,
as long as it's black." Was he taking the money of people who wanted
to paint their Model Ts red by not offering to sell them an unpainted
one? Not in the least.

We may not like the fact that most computers from major manufacturers
come with Windows and only Windows, but it's not a case of taking our
money without permission. No one is forcing us to buy those computers.

Cheers,

Jonathan