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by 0xcde4c3db 1599 days ago
Because the reality is that the OEM doesn't want to track OS installations and Microsoft doesn't want to audit that tracking. With per-CPU licensing, the OEM can just say "here's our invoices from Intel".
1 comments

When they already track configurations on their orders page?
The "per-CPU" policies were primarily at issue ~20-25 years ago. Most of the big OEMs didn't even offer significant customization unless you were buying for a whole office or organization.