Few today remember the actions of Apple in the period just before the introduction of the IBM PC until the unveiling of the Macintosh. As the '70s drew to a close, Apple was being outclassed by the performance of microcomputers based on Z-80 and Intel 8085 chips The aging Mostek 6502 couldn't keep up and the Apple II's architecture was unable to support the I/O demands that were developing. Faced with languishing inventories of Apple IIs, Apple Computer, Inc. began selling the systems to schools at prices that were widely believed to be below cost, or "dumping".
Of course, dumping is an illegal activity, but Apple was never called on the carpet for it. It is likely that this maneuver saved the company, all the while indoctrinating a generation of nascent computer users in the "Apple way". You might wish to note, at the time Microsoft provided the BASIC interpreter for the Apple II.
So anyway, this line of attack is not new.