A cheap PC would be cheaper without an MS tax, unless MS was willing to give Windows away for free to keep Linux from getting a foothold. Sure, the money may not be much, but if you don't perceive a difference in quality, you'll buy the $.98 can of beans over the $.99 one. $115 is hardly a theoretical lower bound to the price of a PC.
There are also large organizations that would like to cut costs wherever they can, and can't be expected to make up the Windows tax by installing crapware like a vendor can. The city of Munich is the most well-known example of a big player switching to Linux. The effort was not a complete failure but was something of a disappointment - I don't think Munich ended up saving any money when you consider the labor costs, etc. But if Linux had been ready and the transition had been more successful, you'd see a lot of imitators following Munich's lead.
But it's probably a moot point anyway. I think Android will end up swallowing the PC market like a classic disruptive technology and stealing Linux's thunder anyway.
There are also large organizations that would like to cut costs wherever they can, and can't be expected to make up the Windows tax by installing crapware like a vendor can. The city of Munich is the most well-known example of a big player switching to Linux. The effort was not a complete failure but was something of a disappointment - I don't think Munich ended up saving any money when you consider the labor costs, etc. But if Linux had been ready and the transition had been more successful, you'd see a lot of imitators following Munich's lead.
But it's probably a moot point anyway. I think Android will end up swallowing the PC market like a classic disruptive technology and stealing Linux's thunder anyway.