>That can't happen until you can distribute Linux on a PC without making some back room deal with Microsoft. Why not? That ended back in the antitrust days. E.

>That can't happen until you can distribute Linux on a PC without making some back room deal with Microsoft. Why not? That ended back in the antitrust days. E.g. See http://webapps.ubuntu.com/partners/oem/ http://webapps.ubuntu.com/partners/oem/ The reason that Linux PCs didn't take off is manifold. First, they're unfamiliar to the user so the return rate is high when they find after taking it home that it won't run some app they need. Second, the price is the same or even more because the OEMs get paid a pretty penny for the preinstalled adware and bloatware. And all the support and the separate software tooling make it tough for the OEM to turn a buck. Not to mention that they're wary of showing it prominently on their site because in the past that lead to a lot of uninformed people buying them and returning them. >No, it's because no matter how awesome Linux is, you can't distribute it without paying. You're needlessly getting angry for nothing. What's stopping anyone from selling PCs with Linux? You can start a company today that does that, and Microsoft won't come near you until you're making hundreds of millions of dollars. E.g. See https://www.system76.com/ https://www.system76.com/ Are they paying Microsoft? Linux on the desktop is suffering precisely because of the points outlined in the article. If Linux was awesome, less people would've switched to OS X.