(...) and numbers count (..)
Exactly. And this is why he should buy it. Given the choice between
a) an expensive laptop with "Microsoft tax" or b) a comparable, less expensive laptop from a company that might be evil but still opensources a lot of SW
a) is the preferrable option. Better still would be c) good, affordable laptop without UEFI and no SW at all (I don't like preinstalled software, because I think it is all about freedom and I don't want any specific distro brutally "suggested" to me)
But if c) is not available, b) is still better than a) (kind of lika a "least worst" decision)
Have a nice day (and weekend :-))
Michael