A right-wing conspiracy, Matt? Could be that it's actually a superior product that attempts to adapt to a changing world and constant technological hardware improvements? It would be nice if the complete upgrades were free, but someone has to pay those code writers, shareholders, etc. If someone is unhappy with MS products, there are still completely viable alternatives like the one you mentioned. Imagine a world where everyone was still using Windows 3.1...or DOS. Things change, and I like MS products despite a moderately frustrating learning curve.