Microsoft lashing out at "naked PCs"

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Here on techreport

Microsoft is urging PC vendors in the UK to stop shipping machines without operating systems. The company says the percentage of "naked PCs" is growing, and that it is expected to hit 5% of total British PC sales this year. In an article published in Microsoft's Partner Update magazine, which the company distributes to PC vendors, Microsoft Head of Anti-Piracy Michala Alexander attempted to make a case for vendors to continue bundling Windows with their systems. The top reasons users buy naked PCs, she wrote, are to install their own software, transfer software from an old machine, install Linux, or take advantage of a volume licensing agreement. She claimed this was a "costly, missed opportunity."

It is a missed opportunity not only to sell-in software revenue through the latest version of Windows, but also to sell support, plus a wide range of spin-off solutions and services.

We want to urge all system builders – indeed, all Partners – not to supply naked PCs. It is a risk to your customers and a risk to your business – with specifically 5 percent fewer opportunities to market software and services.

Alexander added that investigators taking part in Microsoft's anti-piracy controls would also "provide assistance during customer visits, and help [vendors] get the value proposition for pre-installed software and related services." When quizzed by ZDNet, she retracted that statement, saying it was an "error in the copy" and that investigators were not in fact participating in customer visits. A British PC vendor that sells some machines without operating systems was also interviewed by ZDNet, and claimed it had not received pressure from Microsoft "yet."

I wonder: if Microsoft actually starts pressuring and bullying PC vendors to not selling naked PC, should Microsoft be charged for its (usual) anti-competitive behaviour?

Or governments are just getting more "corporate-friendly" these days?


I imagine in the future we probably will have some sort of "Digital Millennium Conformity Act" being shoved into our throat. You know, things like these:

- it is illegal to purchase or sell PC without bundled, commercial software.

- it is illegal for the end-users to install the operating system themselves.

- it is illegal for the end-user to uninstall any components of the bundled software, including, but not limited to, spyware, adware, and rootkit.

- it is illegal to use open-source software.

[Stofsk]

Ah, Microsoft. Still going strong for it's attempt at world domination.

[Ace Pace]

I'll disagree with KANs predictions, mostly because I see no backing for any of that, but I do agree that Microsoft in this case should sit down and STFU.

[Destructionator XV]

Microsoft has every right to attempt to see their product to more companies. I don't really have any problem with this, at least as it was presented in this article.

[Batman]

That depends on what form that 'urging' takes. This being Microsoft I doubt they'll stop at saying 'pretty please, with sugar on top'.