Do Windows users pay a Microsoft tax?

A few days ago, Steve Ballmer stirred up a hornet's nest when he said that Apple users pay a $500 tax for buying Macs instead of PCs. What he neglected to mention, though, is that plenty of people believe they pay a Microsoft tax for using Windows --- and it's not the price of operating system they're complaining about.

As I wrote in my blog, Ballmer said a few days ago that when people buy a Mac rather than a PC, they're spending $500 just for a logo on the machine. The price is actually between $300 and $500, but he had a valid point.

He neglected to say, though, that many Linux users feel that they are forced to pay a Microsoft tax because there's no simple way to buy a PC without Windows on it --- particularly a laptop. So they have to pay extra for Windows --- between $60 and $100 --- then wipe their disks clean and install Linux. Many Linux users told me on my blog that they aren't particularly pleased to be paying the Microsoft tax.

A few people commented on the blog that even Windows users pay a Microsoft tax, and not for Windows itself. I think they're right.

The first tax Windows users pay is a security tax. Windows is more prone to malware than either Linux or the Mac, and using Windows without extra security software is like walking a high-rise tightrope without a safety net --- blindfolded, on a windy day, with no balancing pole, and carrying a 50-pound weight in one hand.

Buy a new PC, and you generally get a 30-day trial for security software from Symantec, McAfee, or another vendor. These all-in-one security suites generally cost from $60 to $80 per year. And it's a good idea to get an all-in-one suite rather than just anti-virus, because Windows built-in firewall and anti-spyware needs help.

That $60 to $80 per year, though, may not be the worst of it. The bigger tax is a hidden one, and it's more costly than money --- it's your time. Specifically, I'm talking about the "crapware" tax. Buy a new PC, and it's filled with junk and crapware --- trial programs for music software, DVD-burning software, personal finance software, and more. They slow down your system, clog your hard disk, and sometimes conflict with one another. You'll have to either spend time cleaning your system of the junk, or else living with the consequences.

The upshot? One way or another, there is a hidden Microsoft tax you generally pay when you buy a new PC. But there are ways around paying the Microsoft tax. In my blog "Free software for avoiding the Microsoft tax," I show you how to do it.