"Microsoft effectively shut down the alternative market by making Windows-hardware coupling mandatory for large hardware vendors."
How did they do that, how?!
That is exactly why GNU/Linux on the desktop isnt used by more people.
How did they do that, how?!
That is exactly why GNU/Linux on the desktop isnt used by more people.
The Findings of Fact in the United States Microsoft antitrust case established that "One of the ways Microsoft combats piracy is by advising OEMs that they will be charged a higher price for Windows unless they drastically limit the number of PCs that they sell without an operating system pre-installed. In 1998, all major OEMs agreed to this restriction."[30] This has been called the "Windows tax" or "Microsoft tax".[31][32]
Why would a hardware vendor make a deal which said vendor can only use this software on the hardware they make but not other?