Then why the heck computers with GNU/Linux still cost the same price as their Windows counterpart with the same configuration, while they could be up to 40% cheaper?
If OEM don't have the "special" deals with Microsoft anymore, then I guess their price for Windows would be only slighter less than Enterprise deals (or whatever they call them these days)...
Surely the first manufacturer to apply the due reduction for not enabling Windows by default (I guess that it could still be installed as a dual-boot by the manufacturer and only charge the end-customer if they do accept the T&C and enable it) would sell them at the lowest price among the competition or are these guys not interested anymore in market share?

They actually get another $100 from Microsoft for not doing so, why should they give-up $300 for the sake of the users/customers?
These companies prefer to "invest" millions in cheating consumers and risking billions of fines (Intel is the latest example) rather than play it fair.
Sure, it wouldn't matter if we were all super-rich and could spend enough money to make everyone and ourselves go for a holiday each year. Think about the increase of house prices and fuel prices in the last 10 years and then think how much an entry level job salary has increased in the same period (don't consider your salary augmentation when changing jobs, that's a false increase: not every new kid on the block might be as lucky...)

No, just of the assholes that you refer to... most of which are _ _ Y _ _ S

you friggin' asked if I knew what they were "running" and surely I was answering to that...
in any case, they come with a user manual indicating the specifications...

I wonder what would happen if, taking a monopolistic approach, all Web Servers out there started to mis-count the browser/OS version of the client accessing its pages... not that you would agree on the fact that two thirds of them are Apache anyway...
<rant>
Yes, go ahead, mod me off-topic since TFA was about Linux and not Open Source, but then you'll have to admit that Open Source is not a company and also that Microsoft XP is quite not the same thing as Windows Vista, so why would you still count them together as "Windows"?
</rant>
Instead, I'll admit that Windows has 45% of the market when you count in the BSA "pirate" rate...

When I switched my entire home network to Linux, it went from 0% to 100% in under 2 hours... I wouldn't call it a far cry!

Do YOU have an output device on all those appliances? (how the heck do you suppose to obtain that information without a RS232 comms port or a screen with related {i} button?)
[ my responses are limited, you must ask the right questions ]

That hugely depends on your audience...
If your dataset is pensioners living in a retirement house, then that'll be:
- 99% (the guests): "we are not allowed swear words in here";
- 1% (the receptionist): "this one here" - pointing to the screen

good luck with that on a netbook (most of which have 600 pixels of vertical size)

I'm sorry guys, but if all of you have been upgrading to IE8, it means that the previous IE version is not there anymore, so how can you all say "IE8 didn't become the default browser"... what is it now, a zombie set as default?

They still probably think that it adds to the glamour having a "Class A" network, like having an AAA score would have prevented the fall of the markets... (for your information: it didn't)

as in POKE 192.168.11.12@1900:1060,#00FF00 to flip the bottom-right corner to green?

I knew these "card readers" on my laptop had a second use after all...

is this "comic book guy" thing a trilogy?