The Rampantly Unofficial Linus Torvalds FAQ 16733
Well, amos, what part of "I realize that the company hosting the meeting was paying for the beer..." did you miss?
Well somebody comped me a copy of Windows to lure me into buying their computer, pure and simple. I know that. I go to Las Vegas and stay in the "free" rooms and get the 'free" buffet tickets from the pit boss around the crap tables, too. While I'm playing they give me "free" drinks. It's all a come on to get you to gamble, win or lose. The free software that comes with the computers is there to get you to buy the computer and use it effectively. But I don't pay for it directly, and so it is free as far as I am concerned. Just like the Vegas hotel room, just like the Ginsu knives. I got a free month or so of AOL once with my newspaper. Took a re-install of Windows to get rid of it later.
Microsoft makes a pretty penny selling Windows and other software to the software buyers of the world. But you cannot save anything by looking high and low to find a computer that doesn't give you a free copy of Windows. When you get all done, it will cost the same or more and you won't have a copy of Windows to run IE on.
Everything you get with the computer is included in the price, amos! The company makes their money selling the computers and that money has to cover all the expenses that...
Well, amos, if it looks like it is free and no one can see that it is not free, how much luck are you going to have by offering something that you claim is free, too? Ain't no "free-er" or even "more free" that you can claim.
billwg wrote something like: The beer was paid for therefore it wasn't free. Yes it was free for you as somebody hoped to get some revenue out...
The Rampantly Unofficial Linus Torvalds FAQ 16734
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