Sooooo... you can choose NOT to install Windows and just install Linux on whatever hardware you buy. How is MS the bad guy there?
You seem to be misunderstanding the situation.
The problem is that a majority of pre-built Intel-based computers, that would run Linux just fine, are forcibly pre-loaded with Windows. You can't get them without paying the Windows tax.
So you pay the Windows tax, scrape Windows off the hard drive, and *** OH CRAP! *** you can't install Linux because Microsoft told the OEM hardware manufacturer to make it impossible to defeat the lock-out.
Sure, they phrase it as "optional". They have to say that. But if you think there isn't a lot of pressure being applied, you're willfully blind. This is MS SOP and has been for decades. Those of us who have multiple feet in all these camps every day -- Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, etc. -- are very used to this crap, and cannot be easily fooled.
That said, Microsoft is not "the bad guy". What they're doing is not illegal. They're merely being assholes.