Microsoft Hatred FAQ

[David Schwartz]

"Eike Preuss" <mail at eikepreuss.de> wrote in message 
news:3s6l8mFmj3fjU1 at individual.net...

> Shouldn't it be my right as a seller, to decide that I want to sell an
> operating system 'that nobody wants' _as well as_ operating systems that
> 'everybody wants'?

    Yes, it certainly is. However, it is also Microsoft's right as a seller 
to refuse discounts to those who also sell competing products. You may not 
particularly what operating systems your customers use, but Microsoft does.

> So it *hurts* me if I am not able to sell these. That
> it doesn't hurt me financially doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt me
> (e.g. my freedom, ideas of morality, whatever).

    You may want to start a restaurant that sells both Big Macs and 
Whoppers. But I don't think you'll get either McDonald's or Burger King to 
let you. Perhaps this hurts your freedom, your ideas of morality, or 
whatever, but the reality is that these companys don't want you selling both 
their products and competing products.

    It is McDonald's position that a Big Mac is superior to a Whopper and 
there is no reason to pick a Whopper over a Big Mac. To them, a store that 
sells both makes no sense.

    Microsoft's corporate view at the time was that an x86 desktop without 
Windows was a brick. And if you want to sell bricks, they don't want their 
customers dealing with you.

    When you sell a product, you also mention that product in your 
advertising. When you sell competing products, you take some customers who 
want the product you advertised. That is why a lot of products are only sold 
through exclusive dealerships.

    Microsoft, like any other company, has the right to set the conditions 
under which its product is sold. Prohibiting the distrubution of competing 
products is not really all that unusal, and the agreement Microsoft actually 
insisted on was much less restrictive than that.

    Is it fair to Microsoft if the big "Windows" sign on your store and in 
your advertising brings in customers looking for Windows and you then sell 
them OS2?

    DS