Published at LXer:

Google didn't get where it is today by charging end users for software and charging them again and again for endless upgrades. Back in the early Macintosh days (i.e. the mid- to late '80s), Apple used the OS to sell hardware. Upgrades were free. Today, Apple sells music at 99 cents a track, but what they're really selling is iPods, iPhones, iMacs, and any other damn thing they can slap an "i" in front of. Apple wins on the desktop -- and crushes Microsoft -- in one way: Make OS X free -- or very cheap. And make it run on Windows-compatible PCs and available preloaded from vendors like Dell and HP.

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