[ale] A modest proposal for the times

[Jim Kinney]

It absolutely blows my mind that buying a desktop with 16 cpus and 128 GB RAM is only $2K.

<wheezing geezer voice>"Back in my day computers had 1 cpu if you were lucky and didn't need a math coprocessor and memory was $500 for 128 MB and ol' Bill Gates got to tug on yer balls for every system you didn't build from scratch!"</>

Looking at specs on that desktop, I think it's time I dumped the recycled dell 2U fan screamer for a system I can't hear through the floor above.

On April 7, 2025 11:08:41 AM EDT, lollipopman691 via Ale <ale at ale.org> wrote:
>Or just buy a Framework ( https://frame.work ) laptop Naked and install what you want on there. I've been very happy with mine. Also cf Ed Zitron:
>
>( https://www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/ ) The whole essay is fun, but the really interesting part begins when you skip to "I’ll give you a more direct example.".
>
>- CHS
>
>On Friday, April 4th, 2025 at 3:12 PM, jon.maddog.hall--- via Ale <ale at ale.org> wrote:
>
>> I have a friend named Geoffrey Bennett who many years ago made a big effort to have the license fee for Microsoft Windows returned to him from his new Toshiba Laptop, one that he was going to run Linux on. Even though I was sympathetic to his desire not to pay for something he was not going to use, I was aware of how these licenses were purchased and applied to hardware and I knew that there was virtually no way to calculate how much "tax" should be returned to Geoffrey.
>>
>> Fast forward to about a month ago when I purchased a new Lenovo laptop computer. Going to Lenovo's site I realized that I could either buy the hardware with Ubuntu/Fedora or Microsoft Windows 11 HOME for 140 dollars more, with an upgrade to Windows 11 PRO of 60 dollars more than that, a total of 200 dollars.
>>
>> I (of course) saved 200 dollars buying the hardware with Ubuntu installed.
>>
>> Curious, I started doing further study.
>>
>> Through a variety of calculations I estimated that the AVERAGE Windows 11 HOME license cost the OEM 100 dollars. This was based on a figure of 22 Billion dollars of MIcrosoft desktop operating system revenue divided roughly by 250,000,000 systems that were manufactured in 2023. The Windows 11 HOME license was probably less, but the Windows 11 PRO licenses drove the per-system revenue up.
>>
>> The latest estimates I have found says that 4% of the laptop/desktop systems will run Linux, which means they will not be running Microsoft Windows and will never utilize the Microsoft license. That means 10,000,000 systems are paying the "Microsoft Tax". If that "tax" is indeed 100 dollars, that means that Microsoft is making 1 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR on licenses that are not used.
>>
>> With the tariffs now being charged by the USA, the price difference will be even greater. At last notice the tariffs from China will be 64%. That means for my Lenovo laptop the difference in cost will not be 200 dollars, but over 328 dollars, and that is for delivery to states that do not charge sales tax. For those states the price is bumped again.
>>
>> Now we do the calculation of 328 dollars times 4% of the 250,000,000 computers, you have a world total of 3.2 Billion dollars paid for licenses that are never used.
>>
>> So I say to laptop and desktop manufacturers, just say "no" to Microsoft software on every laptop/desktop system. Install Linux instead. People who want Microsoft Windows can get a copy and install it. After all, the opposite is what Linux users have done for years, but Linux does not charge a needless "tax".
>>
>> Geoffrey Bennett would approve.
>>
>> And if you agree with this proposal, please share it far and wide, especially to laptop and desktop OEMs
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