If Apple offered software that was free to platforms that run on non-Apple hardware, that would actually be free. However, is it free if they a) found a way t

If Apple offered software that was free to platforms that run on non-Apple hardware, that would actually be free. However, is it free if they a) found a way to shave $X off the cost of their average machine sold b) figured out that they would save $Y on support costs if more users had the same OS version and work suite installed and then found that $X + $Y is greater than the income they receive from selling Mavericks and iWork? Mavericks and iWork are not free. Apple just found a smarter way to make their customers pay for them. If you would have bought and used them all, you just won. If you would have installed Linux, you just got hosed.