You probably don’t remember paying the Microsoft tax because it didn’t show up on your computer’s receipt. It’s not a tax, but rather a per-unit fee all PC owners pay.

Bill Gates was a clever man. Not only did he license DOS to IBM, he included an item in the PC manufacturer’s contract that required all computers to be sold with a DOS (now Windows) license. So every PC that rolled off the line brought in more money for Microsoft.

Yes, that’s how you become a billionaire.

The problem is that not every PC ends up with a copy of a Microsoft Operating system. Some people don’t install DOS or Windows, and instead install Linux or Unix or some other OS. Even though they do that, they pay the Microsoft tax.

A court in Italy recently determined that such a tax is illegal. Their reasoning is brilliant: You buy the PC and enter into an agreement for the hardware. That’s part of the purchase. But when Windows installs, you can choose whether to agree to its use or not. Most people click the I Agree button to accept the terms.

The Italian court ruled that if you don’t click I Agree, or don’t install Windows in the first place, you don’t have to pay for it. That’s logical. May the refunds flow — but for now, only in Italy.

Free Software Foundation

If you think that your job sucks, then lament the poor schlubs who provide content moderation for social networking web sites. These laborers — because it’s not the kind of flashy high tech you’d imaging — sift through mounds of obscenity and pornography to keep the web safe for Grandma and the little kids.

Wired

You know the old joke: There’s a Starbucks on every corner. Supposedly there’s a location where two Starbuck stores are kitty-corner from each other. And you would think such saturation would pretty much put a cap on Starbuck’s phenomenal growth.

Not so fast.

Apparently Starbucks is finding more bucks, thanks to a new mobile app that rewards caffeine addicts with all sorts of goodies. It’s working to further expand the coffee giant’s empire.

ETF Daily News

Back in 1976, no one would have paid $905,000 for a personal computer. Just recently, however, an Apple-1 computer — which is basically just a circuit board — sold at auction for over $900,000.

The amazing part is that it still works!

Fortune

The original Windows featured an icon-based Control Panel.

Windows XP offered two views of the Control Panel: Icons and text/link. That trend continued through Windows 7, with the emphasis on the text-based Control Panel.

Windows 8 kept the original Control Panel (dual mode) but added a PC Settings screen.

Windows 9 will never exist.

Windows 10 is trying to bring the text-based Control Panel and PC Settings screen together. Will the old icon-based Control Panel final rest in peace?

NeoWin

They try and try and the patch keeps failing! InfoWorld‘s Woody Leonhard takes a look at what the patch does and whether or not it’s really necessary.

InfoWorld

Truly, it was and remains a great, groundbreaking video game.

YouTube