[TriLUG] Buying a laptop with no Microsoft tax?

[Mike Johnson]

Justin Johnson [justin at eCotton.com] wrote:
> > Anything you buy, part of the money is going to Microsoft somehow, some
> > way, just deal.
> 
> Just to play devil's advocate here....
> 
> So how does the cash spent for a boxed set of Red Hat or Mandrake get to
> Redmond?

Allow for some hyperbole and it doesn't take much effort.  Some of the
money that purchased that boxed set went towards the purchase of the
computer sitting on the secretary's desk that runs some version of
Windows.  There's someone (or more than one) at each of those companies
that runs a Microsoft product (for whatever reason).  Your purchase of
that boxed set helped finance the purchase of that Microsoft product.

Like I said, it's a bit of a silly example, but so is the idea that if I
purchase an Apple product, that because Microsoft owns some tiny
fraction of Apple stock, that Microsocft profits from my purchase.

Mike
-- 
"Let the power of Ponch compel you!  Let the power of Ponch compel you!"
   -- Zorak on Space Ghost

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