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0 pointsmaerF0x01mo ago0 comments

> I think consumers have little power here. Our economic system fundamentally chooses to reward such behaviour.

Consumers have the final say, our economic system fundamentally is consumer spending. (Ok, save for most recent year(s) of mag7 AI buildout. But generally that's the case for USA economy).

We have to stop taking out our wallet and just accepting things like sheep. (nearly) Every one of the "scrapped" computers could have run a *nix OS and been a middle finger to microsoft.

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thewebguyd1mo ago

I think consumers largely have stopped taking out their wallet for Microsoft, at least enough of them to cause Microsoft to start walking back a little bit.

Nearly 1 billion PCs have stayed on Windows 10, 42% of the global desktop marketshare is still on 10 despite EOL. Linux has been showing consistent growth on the steam hardware survey as well, and time will tell but I have a feeling the MacBook Neo is going to put another nail in Microsoft's consumer coffin.

The problem for us is that's such a tiny margin of Microsoft's customer base. They aren't a consumer company anymore. For Microsoft to feel the pain, we need the big legacy enterprises to start ripping out Windows (and by extension, rip out Windows Server, Azure, M365).

Us here on HN are in a unique position to help, with many of us having influence on or even the authority to make technical decisions for the companies we work for. Its not enough to stop buying Microsoft at home, we all need to stop buying Microsoft at work.

toast01mo ago

> I think consumers largely have stopped taking out their wallet for Microsoft, at least enough of them to cause Microsoft to start walking back a little bit.

Microsoft has largely stopped asking consumers for money. The last paid upgrade was Windows 8, IIRC. Since then, Microsoft wants consumers to upgrade, so it's free, with full screen prompts at login, and sometimes the 'no thanks' button just does it anyway.

Microsoft sells consumer OSes to OEMs. I haven't been looking, but I assume they don't allow OEMs to install Windows 10 Home anymore; and maybe not even Windows 10 Pro. So when consumers buy a new PC, they're getting Windows 11. The only Linux option at most stores is Chrome OS, which Google is shutting down, and is just a browser for most users (it's a useful product! a lot of users just need a browser; but it's not a platform of empowerment)

tosti1mo ago

The past: Nobody got fired for buying IBM.

The present: Nobody got fired for buying Microslop.

iugtmkbdfil8341mo ago

<< Us here on HN are in a unique position to help, with many of us having influence on or even the authority to make technical decisions for the companies we work for. Its not enough to stop buying Microsoft at home, we all need to stop buying Microsoft at work.

I think that is the hard part. I know the options exist, but I would hate to be executive who proposes that kind of rollout along with training necessary for it. I want your position to be expected position, but I can immediately see corporate response.

FuriouslyAdrift1mo ago

Windows OS is just an onramp for their cloud services. That's their focus, now.

xp841mo ago

Sort of related, I think this is why big tech loves “free, ad-supported” so much. Using Google search or YouTube or ChatGPT or Fortnite doesn’t seem like an action that is “supporting a company.” When none of the money comes from your pocket, you don’t really feel like you’re making an important choice to patronize one business or another.

generic920341mo ago

But the money is coming out of our pockets. The costs of the ads are added to product prices, which everyone is paying.

thunderfork1mo ago

You can do that, but the companies and institutions built on Windows will still keep paying whatever it costs for Active Directory, and thus all the bundled software that comes with it.

Individual consumer action does not a monopoly break.

matthewfcarlson1mo ago

It seems like another tragedy of the commons. Consumers ultimately have the final say in climate impacts by above companies. That isn’t to say consumers are guilt free, but the power of an individual is pretty small

nicoburns1mo ago

> Consumers have the final say, our economic system fundamentally is consumer spending.

Only if consumers have viable alternatives to choose from. If they don't then what are they supposed to do?

maerF0x0OP1mo ago

*nix is not a viable option? That's news to me.

I agree it's not as easy as pre-installed, but it definitely is viable.

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