5 ms·
You pay for Windows when you buy a no-OS PC because the manufacturer still had to buy the license from MS.
by djbusby 3y ago
You pay for Windows when you buy a no-OS PC because the manufacturer still had to buy the license from MS.
- elkos 3y agoDid the manufacturer had to pay or did Microsoft had to pay the manufacturer?
- djbusby 3y agoManufacturer pays MS a Windows license fee for every system sold, regardless of OS.
- rbanffy 3y agoIIRC, they could pay a higher fee per system actually sold with Windows, or a lower price for every machine sold, regardless of OS. Remember Microsoft IP infects everything, from SDCards to EFI/UEFI.
- LoganDark 3y agoSome vendors offer a discount if you buy the laptop with Linux instead. See System76.
- djbusby 3y agoThose vendors don't have a license agreement with MS. But Dell, Lenovo, etc do.
- LoganDark 3y agoSo vendors exist that do not have a license agreement with MS. I rest my case.
- djbusby 3y agoI already knew that, we weren't at odds. There is no "case"
- LoganDark 3y agoThe case is that there are indeed computers you can buy that are not, in fact, eating the cost of a Windows license, because OEMs exist that do not have those agreements with MS. "You pay for Windows when you buy a no-OS PC" is not true if said no-OS PC didn't have to eat the cost of a Windows license.