I've recently splashed out on a new laptop. After 6+ years of using Linux exclusively on my home machine, the idea of paying Microsoft Tax™ really stroked my hair the wrong way. So I spent a lot of time researching into buying a new, reasonably specced laptop without Windows preinstalled.

I hate to say that I failed miserably. Yes, there are options, but at least here in the UK the reality is such that a new laptop without Windows is at least 20% more expensive than the equivalent with Windows on. In my case it translates to saving about £150 by giving part of it to Microsoft. Much as I hate myself for that, I took those 150 pieces of silver and now I pay for it with my frustration with Windows 8's huge step back in terms of usability.

I understand the economics of it: OS-free or Linux-preinstlled laptops sell in much smaller quantities through small companies who cannot afford to push the prices down the way the behemoths like Dell do. But the point is that yes, people will continue using Windows. Not necessarily through conscious choice but through a perceived lack of other options.