EU-Unbundle MS Windows from the PC...

I can see this making a lot more people upset than not. Seeing as how most of the people purchasing cheap computers and goverment contracts and stuff will ultimately be using windows anyways.

The home users would be angry at having to pay for Windows. I know that in actuality, the price of the PC would go down because of licensing, but the volume licensing from the manufacture is what makes the price cheaper. Instead of buying a $500 low cost computer, you'd be spending $450 plus $200 for an OS you have to install.

I'm more in favor for consumer choices as that way it gives the users with no real computer knowledge the "buy it and turn it on" computer they want and those that want an alternative to get it with the PC instead of having to purchase it seperately.

Village Idiot said:

The home users would be angry at having to pay for Windows. I know that in actuality, the price of the PC would go down because of licensing, but the volume licensing from the manufacture is what makes the price cheaper. Instead of buying a $500 low cost computer, you'd be spending $450 plus $200 for an OS you have to install.

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Having a monopoly means Microsoft can charge as much as it wants...or offer a discount to PC makers to keep competitors out.

If Microsoft had to compete, you can bet that the off-the-shelf price would come down. You can see it already in places like China, where Microsoft must compete with Linux and pirated copies of its own software.

You can also bet that the Windows installer would become much more polished and easier for the average user, like the OS X or Ubuntu installers.

Still, I don't think the EU has the wherewithal to do something like that. The complaints from the near-term inconvenience would outweigh the long-term benefits.

technologist said:

Having a monopoly means Microsoft can charge as much as it wants...or offer a discount to PC makers to keep competitors out.

If Microsoft had to compete, you can bet that the off-the-shelf price would come down. You can see it already in places like China, where Microsoft must compete with Linux and pirated copies of its own software.

You can also bet that the Windows installer would become much more polished and easier for the average user, like the OS X or Ubuntu installers.

Still, I don't think the EU has the wherewithal to do something like that. The complaints from the near-term inconvenience would outweigh the long-term benefits.

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Unbuntu's installer on the last build that I used was mediocre at best. It did the job of installing the core OS, but then it leaves you having to find and install drivers for other devices...specifically a wireless network card in a notebook of mine that wasn't supported or that no one had made a driver for yet.

They could never offer an OS like off the shelf. The amount of "returns" (with Ubuntu being free and all) and angry customers would pretty much gaurantee that it would not be something that would be offered for very long

Then again, places like Best Buy could charge you $100 to install the OS, raising the price even more.

I would agree if there were currently another OS that could be purchased by an average computer user, average being some one with just basic computer knowledge, and installed as easy as Windows. Right now, OS X installs on anything besides an Apple computer is illegal and probably will continue to be if current sentiments continue to hold and installing an OS that is some version of Linux or other usually requires advanced knowledge of hardware, drivers, and system commands. Hand your generic PC user an install of Red Hat and tell them to put it on their computer and see if they don't come back to you in a day asking what they're supposed to do once the first prompt comes up.

Window's advantage, even being as clunky as some people think and with Vista especially, is that it will find and install most drivers onto a pc.

With an OS not coming pre installed and with the complication and lack of support of pretty much every other os available to be install on a non Apple computer, it would still leave Windows as one of the top sellers.

I agree with you VI. Even if the EU managed to pull this off, it would purely be a symbolic gesture as most people would go ahead and throw Windows on it anyway.

Plus, I don't see what point of this is besides the EU being over-zealous. If you don't want to be forced to pay for a Windows license, in many cases you can just return the software and ask for a refund on the license. I know for sure that Dell allows for this, and I don't see why others wouldn't offer the same. If this isn't an available option in the EU, perhaps that is what they should be focusing on rather than this ludicrous move.