Not from the dealer you cannot, and that was a simple example. How about your VCR? Want a different tuner? Maybe your furniture should come with the coil springs from your favorite manufacturer, or perhaps, that rake you just bought didn't come with the wooden handle from your favorite tree.
To use your phrase, "This is unbelievably stupid."
You want Microsoft to die, period. You hate them, you detest them, and you want Bill to be boiled in oil. Am I close enough, yet?
This situation has been explained to you, you just are looking for the thinnest excuse to slam Microsoft.
You talk about never seeing a Ford with a GM engine. I have been a Diesel Mechanic for over 20 years. I have worked on anything from M60 Tanks to Bulldozers, Front end loaders, Road Graders, Rock Drills, to Cars, Pickups, and 19 wheelers. I have seen LOTS of Fords with GM motors. Not only GM, but Catapillar, and Cummins Motors. I used to work at a rock quarry, the Boss liked Fords. We had 5 Ford trucks, 1 had an International motor, 1 had a Cat motor, 1 had a Cummins motor, 1 had a Detroit Diesel and Allison Automatic, (Both of these are built by GM), and ONLY 1 had a Ford Motor. I used tell him if he liked Fords so much, how come ONLY 1 out of 5 was powered by Ford?
Who says that you can't buy a Truck without a motor. Go out to your local Kenworth dealer and tell them you want a 'Glider Kit', that is a NEW truck WITHOUT a motor, transmission, or rearends. We had a Kenworth dump truck that was a Glider Kit. I know I had to order parts for it, and they always asked if it was a Glider Kit, the VIN was different.
Kenworth is like Dell, Kenworth sells Trucks, Dell sells Computers. And Detroit Diesel, Catapiller, and Cummins are like MS but they sell Motors, and MS sells Software.
NEVER has GM, Cat, or Cummins, EVER told Kenworth that they had to sell ONLY their motors to customers. Kenworth is free to sell anyone ANY of the 3 motors in any of there trucks. When ever you buy a used Truck you ALLWAYS have to ask what model Motor it has.
Also GM, and Cat both sell Automatic Transmissions, and NEVER have they EVER told any Truck company that if they used their Motor they had to use their Trans.
I have seen Allisons behind all sorts of motors and in all of trucks and Heavy Equipment, yes even the M60 Tank uses an Allison Automatic. I have seen the same piece of heavy equipment offer you a choice of ANY of the 3 engines. We had 2 275 Michigan Loaders 1 had a Detroit and the other had a Cummins.
So don't tell me that what MS is doing is normal. MS sells SOFTWARE. Dell sells Computers. If MS wants to sell Computers, then they can build Computers and sell all they want, But until then they HAVE NO BUSINESS telling the computer companies how to run their business.