Want a Clean PC? Better Get It From Microsoft

According to Gizmodo, all PCs sold in the new Microsoft Store will be sold completely free of “bloatware”—all those obnoxious free trials and antivirus nags that seem to come with all new Windows PCs these days.

The author of the original article praises Microsoft appropriately for this, and then (interestingly) goes on to beg Microsoft to use their industry clout to urge other computer manufacturers to institute similar policies.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  This is the sort of thing I encourage, we’d all be better off if the more unscrupulous software companies found it just a little more difficult to prey upon the foolish.  But I think most readers can see Microsoft’s real angle here—if you can go to Microsoft and get a sparkling clean, crap-free PC, then you’re that much less likely to get one from Dell or Gateway.

Microsoft is trying to set themselves up as an elite computer company, an interesting change of stance from their earlier, more conventional status.  I think we may start to see more Microsoft exclusive offers—special software packages, etc.  Who knows?  Microsoft may even try and set themselves up as a hardware manufacturer.  And considering how the hardware on the Xbox is performing, I’d be interested to see if they can do it…