>I use a Windows desktop and I constantly find myself wondering: "what am I paying MS for?".
Pretty much the same thing what most average Joes pay for: "convenience of familiarity" and "support". Averaged, most people around the world grew up with Windows. Heck even in third world countries and remotest part of the world, people are more familiar with Windows (a commercial product) than Linux (a zero cost free product). Windows given its monopoly also has a better support for programs and drivers. Keep in mind people do tend to look at desktop the same way you look at mobile: "Windows phone - had terrible apps, and didn't have half the features of my friends' iPhones and Androids."
There is also another thing, the true cost of Windows is hidden within the price of the hardware. When you purchase a laptop or commercial desktop, you dont pickup a cd for Windows or pay for it separately at the checkout. Thus for most people Windows is technically "free".
Sure I can install Linux on my gf's computer but most likely she wouldn't let me since its not worth her time to relearn an entire new operating system. It is the same argument with console gaming vs pc gaming. For some people, even if it means missing out on a better gaming experience, they just want to sit down and not fiddle with things. And that is with my gf who is my generation, I can't even begin to imagine the horror of installing a different OS for my parents and constantly being phoned to walk them through trivial tasks.
> I dumped the phone after 1 year when it constantly crashed on me (Nokia Lumia 720),
I had quiet the opposite experience, Windows phone seemed to crash the least on me. I found it to be more fluid OS than anything else I have tried.
Pretty much the same thing what most average Joes pay for: "convenience of familiarity" and "support". Averaged, most people around the world grew up with Windows. Heck even in third world countries and remotest part of the world, people are more familiar with Windows (a commercial product) than Linux (a zero cost free product). Windows given its monopoly also has a better support for programs and drivers. Keep in mind people do tend to look at desktop the same way you look at mobile: "Windows phone - had terrible apps, and didn't have half the features of my friends' iPhones and Androids."
There is also another thing, the true cost of Windows is hidden within the price of the hardware. When you purchase a laptop or commercial desktop, you dont pickup a cd for Windows or pay for it separately at the checkout. Thus for most people Windows is technically "free".
Sure I can install Linux on my gf's computer but most likely she wouldn't let me since its not worth her time to relearn an entire new operating system. It is the same argument with console gaming vs pc gaming. For some people, even if it means missing out on a better gaming experience, they just want to sit down and not fiddle with things. And that is with my gf who is my generation, I can't even begin to imagine the horror of installing a different OS for my parents and constantly being phoned to walk them through trivial tasks.
> I dumped the phone after 1 year when it constantly crashed on me (Nokia Lumia 720),
I had quiet the opposite experience, Windows phone seemed to crash the least on me. I found it to be more fluid OS than anything else I have tried.