Re: If you use Microsoft products...
I've upvoted you out of goodwill as your sentiment is spot on.
If I may though, could I point out just a teensy weensy little caveat to your argument?
It's a point that has been made several times before, but it bears repeating, because it's the 'reality' for many people. That reality is this - Some of us have spent thousands and thousands of pounds on certain types of software that will only run in a Windows OS environment. I'm talking specifically audio software here, but it could equally apply to some 3D or graphics software. Once you have invested the thousands of pounds, and then invested many years learning said products, then there really is no choice but to stick with Microsoft windows.
Even if there were alternatives (and there are not) then it would mean buying new software (also to the tune of thousands of pounds), and investing months if not years again to learn how to master it.
I have only recently got all the software I desire, and only even more recently have I learned how to master it, to an extent. And then Microsoft pulls the rug out from under your feet.
So, by all means, tell people that if they are still using windows, that they are part of the problem, but hopefully you see that it isn't quite that simple, now I've pointed out that certain caveat.
Of course, take your machine off the net. But even then that poses problems with authentication. It is a fact of life that people who buy the software are penalised where as those that use cracks are not. Some devs are worse than others, but on the whole it is getting much harder to not connect your main machine for audio to the net.
In fact, it is even quite difficult to get this to work on a virtual machine (audio software) because of driver support. Plus, if you have spent months and even years in my cases building the specific software architecture you require (folder structures, preferences, partitions etc.), then you will be loathe to take another few months or years to do it all over again.
Some developers are even penalising users for running the software in a VM - Lennar Digital Sylenth for example will not even run if it detect Hyper-V enabled on a recent win OS, whether the plugin is run in a VM or not. This is an exception of course, but a myriad of barriers exist to getting audio software to run smoothly on any machine, let alone virtually or in another environment.
Hopefully now you can see why some of us are so angry with microsoft. We simply have no choice in the matter. We've been robbed. Of our purchased software, our time, our good will, etc. etc. etc.
Bully for you if you can dump the bastards outright - I would too in a heartbeat, but you know, I didn't spend all this money and take all this time to just say 'oh, well, you know what, forget it, didn't want to use it anyway'....
Biting the hand that feeds IT
