XP SP3: Pardon My Cynicism...

I ain't twisting nothin', man.
You have to make up your mind: is it possible to force an OS onto a customer without pointing a gun at his head, yes or no?
You seem to think that no it is not possible and yes it is possible.

It occurred to me that somehow you had experience a satori and finally realize what forcing an OS on a customer would mean, but you have returned to the dark side

As for the other argument, since you brought it up, all I have to say is this (I won't reply further since you seem not to grasp it despite you just stumbled upon your own incoherence)

No. I chose to buy that particular hardware from that particular company at that particular conditions and there was no way to get it without Vista.
And the same was true for most (read: more than 95%) of the laptops I had seen so far. The ones that came without Vista (from companies I didn't know, didn't trust for an international shipment, or simply didn't like) did not fullfill the list of requirements I had for the hardware.
I was out to buy the hardware, not the friggin' software. Vista, from this point of view, was just an expensive annoyance I had to pay for in order to get that hardware.

You are changing the terms: I did not say that I was forced to buy the computer. I did say, though, that Vista was forced on that computer.
Nobody pointed a gun at my head and forced me to sign a check to DELL. And yet I had to pay for Vista in order to get the hardware I chose to buy.

"forcing someone to let go of XP".
Your actual words were: "Microsoft cuts support in a year, forcing everyone to move to Vista"

You know, there still are options: like moving to linux, or mac, or amiga, or the commodore 64. One could also sell his computer. So, either there is no way to force someone to move to Vista, or you should consider that such forcing is a matter of perceived convenience. The software house just do its best to make inconvenient for you not to move to Vista.

By cutting support to XP, all XP customers will be forced to upgrade to Vista if they still want to use windows programs.
By signing not-so-crystal-clear agreements with major hardware manufacturers (DELL, HP, Toshiba, Acer, go on - the list is endless) all hardware customers will be forced to pay for an OEM copy of Vista if they want their hardware. And, being most people computer illiterates, this would mean - since hardware manufacturers won't offer a decent alternative, not to displease Microsoft - granting MS a huge acritical customer base.

When an OS is "offered" on more than 90% of the computer sold to the public and when there is no easy way to get an alternative or a refund on that same hardware (and it would be easy and at no cost to ship the system without an OS installed), I say that that OS is "forced" on the hardware.
You call that "free market". Suit yourself.

 

This is as clear as I can make it:

No. No one can force you to purchase a certain OS.
Yes. Microsoft can persuade people to stop using XP.
No. Microsoft cannot force everyone to stop using XP.
Yes. Using XP after Microsoft cuts support is possible.
No. Using XP after Microsoft cuts support is not efficient or practical.

Better?

Then I take that back as oversight on my behalf, and not preparing for you trying to ambush me whenever I made a slip.

You may now read that quote as "Microsoft cuts support in a year, forcing everyone except for the diehards to move to a different OS".

I want a new car without tires. More than 90% of cars "offered" to the public come with tires, and when there is no easy way to get an alternaive or refund on the tires (and it would be easy and at no cost to ship the car without tires installed), you say that the tires are "forced" on the car. I call that stupid reasoning.