The part where you "literally couldn't buy a computer without paying them" is simply not true. I bought a lot of computers and computer parts at the time, and p

The part where you "literally couldn't buy a computer without paying them" is simply not true. I bought a lot of computers and computer parts at the time, and probably the only time I "had" to pay for an MS license was when buying a laptop. (But I got that one used, at a much cheaper price, on eBay, so...) You are vastly exaggerating.