PC makers include Windows because Microsoft used monopolistic
methods to crush any competition.

This was true in the days of MS-DOS, when Microsoft obliged computer makers to
put DOS on all their machines, if they wanted a license. Microsoft took a lot
of flak for that, and it eventually ended. I don't believe it occurs with
Windows.


I'd be fine if they charged a reasonable fee, but over $200 is excessive in
light of what others charge for theirs, which I believe is zero.

It depends on what you're getting. In theory, the product you pay most for
should give you the best quality, the rationale being that the manufacturer
will continually plow its profits into improving its product.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has demonstrated its inability (or unwillingness) to
produce an OS that's stable and bug-free. The reason Windows 7 was an
improvement over its predecessors is that Microsoft finally got wise and hired
some guy (I forget his name) who kicked butt.

I just read that Apple appears to be falling down on the -- uh -- job, and its
current OS release has many problems.

Steve Jobs supposedly admired Edwin Land, who said "One or two people can be
creative. A committee cannot." Great products (and Land certainly had his
share) are usually the result of a single, focused point of view. When he was
working on the SX-70, many people within the company said it wouldn't work.
Land didn't fire them -- but he kept away from them.

A similar problem exists with Linux -- there is no central authority dictating
what Linux should "look like" or how it should behave. This would appear to
make Linux susceptible to the same problem as most operating systems --
creeping featuritis.

In case you're wondering... I hate Apple and I hate Microsoft. Both companies
stink, the latter because its products rarely come up to the quality level you
expect, and the former because it lies, lies, lies.

I'm writing this on a computer running Windows 7 Professional 64. Though it
might surprise you, the system is stable and rarely locks up or has Weird
Problems. On the other hand, a friend of mine who used a Macintosh told me
(about seven years ago) that the OS "collapsed" and had to be reinstalled. It
happens.