I have bought many computers that have Windows installed, they have all been trivial to replace with Linux installs. On almost all of them, I never even booted into windows once.
Was it wasted money going to Microsoft? I don't know, I bought the computers because the price point worked for me. I have also built a lot of computers myself, but most of the time my home built machines end up costing more than the pre-built one that has windows installed (although my parts are probably nicer, but maybe not always).
This is like a ton of things you buy. Sometimes they include parts you don't want, but if the price is good, it doesn't matter that you discard part of it.
The payment is the real problem here. It's like if every meal you bought included a $1 fee to McDonald's even though they had nothing to do with it. That would be very evil anti-competitive stuff, right? Or if the fee is for a McDonald's promotional poster they put in the box and you throw away, same thing.
Was it wasted money going to Microsoft? I don't know, I bought the computers because the price point worked for me. I have also built a lot of computers myself, but most of the time my home built machines end up costing more than the pre-built one that has windows installed (although my parts are probably nicer, but maybe not always).
This is like a ton of things you buy. Sometimes they include parts you don't want, but if the price is good, it doesn't matter that you discard part of it.