I suspect a big reason why MS is so rabid about protecting thier hardware platform is that they are likely not making much (if anything) on the Hardware and will take a loss if need be to sell software, which is afterall where the real money is.
People able to buy the harware, mod it and run Linux (etc.) on it, could then be seen as costing them money, particularly if they're selling the hardware at a loss with the expectation of recouping that loss in software sales.
I think it is rather poetic from the standpoint of being a Linux user, that MS would sell me the means of building a cheap Linux server farm below cost.:)
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I suspect a big reason why MS is so rabid about protecting thier hardware platform is that they are likely not making much (if anything) on the Hardware and will take a loss if need be to sell software, which is afterall where the real money is. People able to buy the harware, mod it and run Linux (etc.) on it, could then be seen as costing them money, particularly if they're selling the hardware at a loss with the expectation of recouping that loss in software sales. I think it is rather poetic from the standpoint of being a Linux user, that MS would sell me the means of building a cheap Linux server farm below cost. :)