Mega corporations with huge government contracts that are selling something worth pennies for hundreds of dollars can get away with that stupidity. Especially if they leverage their weight to make sure the government goes after every 15 year old copying their OS years past (”piracy is not a victimless crime” remember that slogan?). Of course when it’s MS running Netscape out of business using illegal business practices, or stealing other people’s ideas such as with Borland (.net framework), then it’s OK to copy things.
When IBM was willing to use the MS OS and basically made them the industry standard, they were paying $1 per computer for the licence - that should give you an idea of what it’s really worth. Pennies, literally.
The “mom and pop shop” Biden loves to mention cannot afford these games, they would go broke. Now, the big philanthropist Gates (who stole ideas, ran the competition under with illegal practices), wants to create a lasting legacy of what a great guy he is.
Gates is just a greasy head, a nerd with a silver spoon in his mouth, whose father became rich by being a lawyer for the abortion industry, who today leverages his political influence to get richer and richer but he’s neither a genius nor moral. Just another American oligarch that visited Epstein’s island and where the DOJ can’t see, hear or do anything.
He’s gotten a bit better since 98: https://youtu.be/kjm2ZZg6MAQ (I’m surprised they haven’t taken this down from YouTube).
But yes, MS like Google, big pharma or some others that have profit margins in the thousands of percent on a product can afford all sorts of stupid nonsense.
“Now, the big philanthropist Gates (who stole ideas, ran the competition under with illegal practices), wants to create a lasting legacy of what a great guy he is.”
Isn’t that what they always do? Men like Carnegie, Stanford, Rockefeller, and Ford among others were some very shady characters with rather dubious, and many times illegal business practices that destroyed people’s lives in the process, but they always play the benevolent philanthropist before they die in an attempt to blot out their sins.