Subj : Re: SSH on BBSes
To   : Arelor
From : boraxman
Date : Tue Apr 26 2022 21:07:03

 Ar> It was a mess.
 Ar> 
 Ar> Some people started recording themselves on camera actively clicking on
 Ar> the "I don't accept" button at the end of the EULA upon turning on the
 Ar> computer for the first time. Then they would ask for the license fee
 Ar> back since back in the day the EULA had some clause about compensating
 Ar> the customer.
 Ar> 
 Ar> Microsoft killed the practice by removing the button, so the only
 Ar> available button was "I Accept." How poetic (and representative of the
 Ar> software industry practices).
 Ar> 
 Ar> The best way to evade the Microsoft tax is to build your computers from
 Ar> spare parts or buy from a dealer which is not selling/reselling Windows
 Ar> licenses. Typically this includes dealers which buy computers in bulk
 Ar> from bankrupt firms and then sell them at a discount to end users. Now
 Ar> you may guess why my computers came with stickers with logos of banks
 Ar> and defunct firms pasted all over them.
 Ar> 
 Ar> I think people does not realize how tight Microsoft's grip was on the
 Ar> market because they don't realize how much extra effort it used to be to
 Ar> purchase general computing equipment without going through Microsoft.
 Ar> 
 Ar> 
 Ar> --
 Ar> gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

Very difficult if you are trying to buy a laptop.  You can't get a refurbished one without Windows easily.  It's not even hard, it's harder than hard.

Microsofts business practices are despicable.  It is an abuse of their position, to effectively force people to buy their product.  Capitalism is supposed to be about the consumer choosing who to do business with.

That kind of monopolisitic abuse of power by a corporation might be considered fair game in the USA, but this power extends beyond US borders.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

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