Leave it to Microsoft to be openly user-hostile in every way possible, knowing perfectly well that it won't hurt their market share one bit. I have no idea why people think this is a different Microsoft now than it was under Ballmer.
Yeah it seems like they just waited for a new generation of consumers to grow up without knowing it is a trap. That plus waiting for the regulatory environment to give up on anti-trust almost entirely.
Whatever advantages Apple has over Microsoft (build quality, UX, polish, customer service, etc.), Apple is definitely not gaining on Microsoft because of greater customization options. Most OSX users just use Safari.
It's not that merit is bad. It's that money is often used as a proxy for merit. If you have lots of money a common default assumption is that you earned that money through merit of some kind.
So you have phrases like: "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?"
Sounds like a tension between what is and what should be.
As it stands now, it seems like there are ways other to make lots of money other than merit. Is that an argument against meritocracy? It sounds like it's the opposite to me.
The loudest proponents of meritocracy tend to be the ones that have none but simply wish to use their capital for their private lackey class unimpeded. It's a bit of a dog whistle.
So we slap Microsoft's hand for trying to make people use their (free) browser, and let Apple continue to print money by monopolizing software and content distribution on their hardware? I think we just need more stringent consumer protections in general, but there's a slim chance of that happening when you're as much of a CIA/FBI lapdog as Apple.
