I think at this point, most people have a really screwed notion of price ... 1. preinstalled / bundled Windows is not free, the "Windows tax" being very real

I think at this point, most people have a really screwed notion of price ... 1. preinstalled / bundled Windows is not free, the "Windows tax" being very real 2. this upgrade is not free for XP / Vista users 3. Windows 10 is not free and will probably cost about the same price as Windows 8.1, which is $120 for the Standard version or $200 for the Pro version - it might turn out to be cheaper this time, but that's only because they are changing the license to be tied to a particular device 4. Windows being a platform, is a complementary to Microsoft's Office 365, OneDrive, the Windows Store, Exchange, etc... the Windows Store in particular charges a revenue fee and is the only source possible for "modern apps" 5. personally I can't use the standard version, as it is missing features I need, like BitLocker or the ability to make a bootable USB drive - things that with the other operating systems I get for free So in case I haven't been hibernating to wake up in some weird future in which a beer costs $200 and comes with strings attached, yes, voting with your wallet is significant.