2026-08-10T22:33:48.412547Z

Amid RAM price hikes, Microsoft reportedly raises Windows license cost, forcing OEMs to hike prices even further on hardware

www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/amid-ram-price-hikes-microsoft-reportedly-raises-windows-license-cost-forcing-oems-to-hike-prices-even-further-on-hardware

Windows 11 Hero Surfaces on a white table

Windows CentralWindows 11 license fee hikes contributing to higher laptop prices, says reportA new report claims Microsoft has raised the cost of the Windows license by up to 10% for certain OEMs, which is much higher than usual.

2026-08-12T13:51:54.531239Z

chilicheeselies@chilicheeselies@lemmy.world

⁨3⁩d

Replying to @⁨mereo@piefed.ca⁩

If you are building a new machine for home use and not starting with Linux it’s crazy to me. The worst that can happen is you try it for a month or two, hate it, and then buy a windows license.

⁨Aug⁩ ⁨12⁩, ⁨2026⁩, ⁨13:51⁩en

2026-08-12T15:00:20.874906Z

AeonFelis@AeonFelis@lemmy.world

⁨3⁩d

Replying to @⁨chilicheeselies@lemmy.world⁩

try it for a month or two

By then the price of said Windows license would quadruple.

2026-08-12T15:44:48.140606Z

Smoogs@Smoogs@lemmy.world

edited⁨3⁩d

Replying to @⁨chilicheeselies@lemmy.world⁩

Even at that you can dual boot. You could ween yourself from one to the other to build a daily driver. As Linux has several windows emulators(heroic for example) that you can install and run all your fav window programs anyways.

Linux is like so zero risk it is ridiculous.