Quote:
Originally Posted by heero_yuy
I'm not going to upset a perfectly running machine honed to my liking just to line Gates' pockets.
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I can see your point when everything works OK but just an opinion about Microsoft's pockets. I've been using/buying Microsoft operating systems since 1995. The cost for them over that time is, more or less:
Windows 95 to 98SE - About £80 I think ..but can't be certain.
XP Pro disk - £100 (retail).
Windows 7 - £45 (bought retail on the pre-release price offer).
Windows 8 Pro - £25 (price from Microsoft as an early purchaser).
£250 since 1995 works out at about £13 a year. Maybe that's a bit more than some pay because the operating system very often comes pre-installed on new computers. I don't know how much of the cost of a new computer is the operating system. £13 a year doesn't seem excessive for all of the hours of usefulness and interest the operating systems have given. Not much else these days gives that sort of value.
The reason Microsoft is so successful is because they have sold operating systems and other products in the millions. Not (I feel) because they have been charging us too much as individuals.