Lenovo Cuts the Windows Tax and offers Cheaper Laptops with Linux Pre-installed
Lenovo Cuts the Windows Tax and offers Cheaper Laptops with Linux Pre-installed
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in brazil, we used to have a law forcing this to be a thing. back in the laptop days, it used to be reasonably common for people to buy one without with linux, and pirate windows later to save money. or because it was plain cheaper.
it turns out brazil fomented a big userbase for linux for a while there. free market my ass, microsoft is an oligopoly. if this ever gets widespread i'm pretty sure adoption will grow for the simple fact people will at least get to fucking try it. microsoft wouldnt take it kindly though.
Used to have? Not anymore?
i wanted to say we still do but im not sure. its been a while since i shopped for laptops.
Wouldn't be surprised if Bolsonaro had gotten pocketed a kickback from MS to quietly remove that law's teeth.
i checked the brazilian dell website and they offer ubuntu as a choice. i'm not sure if they are doing it by their own choice or by force of law though.
bolsonaro gutting this law wouldnt surprise me, but i don't see it as relevant enough (at least right now) for them to even bother glossing over this tbh.
oligopoly
That's a way to misspell monopoly, alright.
An oligopoly is a market in which pricing control lies in the hands of a few sellers. As a result of their significant market power, firms in oligopolistic markets can influence prices through manipulating the supply function.
I'm considering Macs and Chromebooks to be competitors. Maybe they aren't since those systems are very locked down, but eh, still shitty and not much practical difference IMO.
Fair. Although, I consider Microsoft's market "Most laptops" since Apple kind of does its own thing and Chromebooks are ultra-low end laptops. Thus Microsoft gets ~95% of the market for themselves.
Personally, I'd say that's a clear case of monopoly since MS controls this entire segment of "non-Apple, non-ultra low power laptop, PCs", but you're right - there are other players. The thing is, they have relatively tiny niches in which they thrive and in fact pose no threat to the monopolist.
But I now I see how you see it as an oligopoly, which is quite valid.
