[Newscaster] The calendar may say that it is Presidents' Day, but it felt more like Independence Day for computer users.
Today, many staged protests around the country and here in the Bay Aera
over having to pay for something they don't want, and don't use:
Microsoft's operating system.
[Michael] On February 15th, 1999, groups of open source software advocates around the world got together
at their local Microsoft office to stage a protest.
While numerous demonstrations were held on that day in major U.S. cities and even foreign
countries like Japan and New Zealand, the most well documented protest occurred in California’s
Silicon Valley.
After meeting at a local Denny’s restaurant and creating picketing signs, the group of
over 150 protesters marched onward towards the Microsoft office building in Foster City.
Members of the press quickly followed them with cameras and microphones to capture the
event for local news stations and newspapers.
The group was predominantly made up by Linux users, but users of other open source OSes
were mixed in as well.
Wearing shirts and hats outfitted with the Linux Tux mascot, the protesters arrived outside
the Microsoft Offices.
Armed with unused and unwanted software licenses, the demonstrators stood outside the office
building until they came face to face with Microsoft employees.
They were here to demand a refund for something that they never wanted in the first place,
but were forced into paying for: Microsoft Windows 98.
The event became known as Windows Refund Day.
To understand the story behind Windows Refund Day, we have to take a look back at the state
of the computer industry during the late 90’s.
With the ongoing legal case brought on by the U.S. Department of Justice, Microsoft
was definitely in the hot seat.
It was alleged that Microsoft was participating in anti-competitive business practices and
having a monopony, due to their dominance in the computer operating system and web browser
space.
Windows was, by a landslide, the most used consumer desktop operating system at the time,
and still is to this day.
However, even in the mits of Microsoft’s monopoly, other alternative operating systems
attempted to find their place.
And no, I’m not talking about Mac OS, I’m talking about Linux, an open source operating
system that is completely free to use.
While Linux was not nearly as popular as Windows, it did find its niche audience, tech-savvy
computer users who wanted an alternative, open-source choice for an operating system.
Linux resonated well with these users, who did not want to contribute to Microsoft’s
monopoly by using Windows 98.
Some even claimed that Linux was more secure and easier to use than Windows.
But let's say that you were a Linux user in the late '90s and wanted to purchase a brand new PC
Pre-installed with a distribution of Linux
One thing you would discover almost immediately when shopping around, is that the vast majority
of computer manufacturers pre-loaded their machines with Windows 98.
And, I mean, why wouldn't they?
Almost everybody used Windows, so it made sense for PC manufacturers to have deals with
Microsoft to cater to these users.
Microsoft sold more copies of Windows, the PC manufacturers sold more PCs, and the end
user got an OS that was widely used and compatible with more software.
It was a win-win.
But if you were a Linux user, you didn’t want Windows.
So what could you do?
While you could just wipe the Windows 98 installation off of the hard drive and install Linux, you
would actually still be paying for that pre-installed copy of Windows 98, which was accounted for
in the cost of the PC.
This frustrated users of Linux and other open source OSes, because they were essentially
forced to pay for something that they didn’t want to use, and that’s why they wanted
a refund from Microsoft.
Alright, let’s talk about the refund.
Believe it or not, Microsoft actually states in the End User License Agreement for Windows,
that if a user does not accept the agreement, they can return their unused copy of Windows
for a full refund.
But instead of contacting Microsoft, they had to get in touch with the PC manufacturer.
But, as it turns out, things weren’t that simple.
I mean why do you think all these people got together to protest Microsoft anyway?
Well this is where things get very interesting.
If you were to call your PC manufacturer and ask for a refund for your unused Windows license,
they would tell you that they can’t handle refunds for Windows because they didn’t
manufacture it, and that you’ll need to contact Microsoft for a refund.
[Protester] In enlightened circles this is called a catch-22!
[Michael] So that’s why this whole Windows Refund Day event happened in the first place.
But it actually wasn’t the first time that someone wanted a refund for an unused Windows
license.
Enter January of 1997.
A Linux user named Donna was out searching for a new laptop.
When she realized that every PC she found came bundled with Windows, she asked the store
manager if they could instead, include a blank hard drive.
The store manager denied her request, saying that the PC manufacturer's contract with Microsoft
prevented them from doing so.
Frustrated, Donna caved in and purchased a new Canon Innova Book pre-installed with Windows
95.
When she got home and booted up her PC she was presented with the End User License Agreement.
She did not accept the agreement, at which point, the system prompted her to read the
agreement for refund instructions.
Of course, the EULA stated that she would need to get in contact with the PC manufacturer
to initiate the refund process.
She then went online to Canon’s website and, to her surprise, did not find any information
whatsoever about obtaining said refund.
After a few emails back and forth with technical support, and over 10 days of Donna not being
able to use her PC, in fear that it would invalidate the refund, she got to speak with
a manager.
The manager, who had been in the PC business for a long time, had never heard of somebody
getting a refund for Windows 95.
He also didn’t know that his company was supposed to issue it.
I guess that Microsoft never trained their partners on the refund process, because they
just assumed that nobody would actually ask for one.
Donna eventually got her refund, but it was a very tedious process having to speak with
multiple representatives.
Okay so back to the Refund Day.
Due to the date of the protest being announced weeks in advance, Microsoft and the local
media already knew about it.
Microsoft was expecting these people to show up.
In fact, they even displayed a sign welcoming the Linux community, and had representatives
standing outside.
By no means did these measures stop the protest, but it allowed Microsoft to handle the local
media’s portrayal of them in a professional way.
The entire event was captured by news crews from local stations, which interviewed both
sides of the protest, the open source software users, and Microsoft.
When asked about the protest, here’s what one Microsoft spokesperson had to say:
[Microsoft Spokesperson] I think fundamentally what today is about is
a PR activity being used by some Linux enthusiasts to generate interest in their product.
[Michael] Microsoft emphasized that it was the responsibility of the computer manufacturers to issue refunds,
even issuing an official statement to the protesters stating these same things.
But the protesters argued, and when interviewed by the media, explained the catch-22 scenario
that brought them here in the first place.
Frustrated, a few people from the group actually tried to enter the Microsoft offices on the
9th floor of the building.
But their efforts were quickly brought to a halt, as they found that the elevator had
been reprogrammed to disable access to the 9th floor.
Unfortunately, despite many attempts at getting to the offices, the protesters left without
their refunds.
While it may seem at first like Windows Refund Day was a huge disappointment, getting refunds
was not the ultimate purpose of the protest.
Sure it would have been nice for these Linux users to get issued refunds, but as one protester
said, he never expected Microsoft to do so.
He said that the ultimate goal of the protest was to raise awareness to the catch-22 issue,
which it definitely did.
Many local news stations in the Silicon Valley area ran segments on the protest, and it was
even brought to international audiences through publications including the New York Times
and BBC News.
Ultimately, Windows Refund Day never got anybody refunds, but it helped to shed light on Microsoft’s
business practices at the time, and informed people about an alternative choice for a computer
operating system that many prefer over Windows today.
That’s all for today’s episode.
I’d like to thank you all very much for watching.
If you enjoyed this video, be sure to give it a like and get subscribed.
And as always, I will see you in the next video.