osOpinion: Will Microsoft Ever Give Us a Tax Break?

[ Thanks to Kelly
McNeill for this link. ]

“So, can you really escape paying a licensing fee to “Da Man”
when you buy one of the above mentioned Linux systems? Let’s find
out!

“To answer this question, I first tried to configure two
identical mid-range Dell Dimension 4100 systems, one with Windows
Me and the other with Linux. It turned out that it didn’t matter
which OS I chose, but US$1,539 would buy me the following: Intel
PIII 933MHz, 256MB SDRAM, 20GB hard drive, 48x CD-ROM, SoundBlaster
64V, 3Com Ethernet, 19″ FD Trinitron monitor, and Harman/Kardon
speakers.”

“However, the Linux machine comes with “no bundled software
installed,” while the Windows configuration sports Microsoft Office
2000 SBE, Norton AntiVirus 2001, Trellix Web, and NetObjects
5.0.”

“In other words, I would pay the same amount of cash for
freeware Linux as I would for Windows Me with a boatload of
commercial software. Obviously, this money is not going to Red Hat,
so the only feasible explanation is that Microsoft still gets a
licensing fee regardless of whether or not a user chooses its
software.”

Complete
Story