The software on the computer would cost more if it was ad-free and consumers have made the clear choice that they prefer not to pay for OS updates. We know this because the updates used to cost money. Apple was charging over $100 just for a point release, and they charged hundreds for updates to bundled software like iLife and iWork.

Everyone would love it if the NFL had zero ads but most NFL fans wouldn’t pay $XXX/month to watch the games.

OEMs pay pennies on the dollar for Windows and in some cases $0, the retail license is $200 but you can buy a mini PC for the same cost with a legitimate Windows license.

I dislike ads as much as the next person and use Linux myself for my main machine, but I’m not completely lacking in pragmatism on this subject. Commercial operating systems fund their development through paid services and App Store revenue sharing.

I think the status quo is relatively reasonable and, again, I find the commercialization to be very easy to dismiss and disable.

We are spending more time debating this subject than it took me to disable all forms of advertising in Windows.