Windows free notebooks

[KLF]

Originally Posted by __-_-_-__

In EU every notebook or desktop is forbidden to be sold without OS.

No, not every one of them.

Just the ones that could be considered as everyday electric appliances you buy ready in a box from store shelf. Like a microwave oven, LCD TV, laptop, iPhone, Playstation, desktop computer, fridge... All of those are supposed to be pretty much usable after power plug is connected and power button pressed.

Customized computers are different thing, customer can choose not to have OS in the package or installed. While custom desktops are common, I haven't seen such laptop live in years.

[ganzonomy]

Get a system76 if you want a Clevo gaming rig (ie: Sager) that doesn't come with a windows option. The only quirk here though is that many resellers of Sagers will allow you to buy with no OS and then install Ubuntu / FreeBSD / PCBSD after-the-fact. However, to be able to buy a Linux-d gaming rig for things such as folding@home (and having a small folding farm) is definitely not a bad thing.

Jason

[pengy_666]

whatever I decide to type is my prerogative, M$ Microsoft, it doesn't make no difference.

[pixelot]

Originally Posted by debguy

Please stop spreading that narrow-minded point of view! Using Linux is not a question of the price tag. It is a question of personal preference and technical properties.
So having to buy a computer with a preloaded OS that you won't use does hurt your freedom of choice. Even if a computer with Windows is cheaper than the same computer without it, it still forces you to support a company that you don't want to have any business with. So buying a computer without it is the only reasonable option. Buying a computer with Windows and declining the EULA can be a stopgap until you can actually buy a computer without Windows at best, because pretending that you didn't know the terms of use before buying the product is a lie and everybody knows it. You know it, the vendor knows it and MS knows it.

Take it easy, there. While for many people, as you said, using Linux is not a question of the price tag, for some people it is just that. So let's not be narrow-minded.

And I agree being forced to buy a computer with preloaded OS hurts your freedom of choice, but I wasn't trying to force anyone down that route. I was just giving one option that I've used, since I don't mind buying MS (when it doesn't cost much extra). When you assume that no one would choose this option, you are the one being narrow-minded.

It should be noted that I love Linux, and think Windows pretty much sucks. But that doesn't mean dual-boot isn't an option for those so inclined. And that's all I was saying.

Oh, and I was never pretending ignorance of the TOS. Please don't put words in my mouth (or characters in my post).

[Ryan]

So was it confirmed that I can decline the EULA and ask for a compensation or refund of the OS?

I have so many copies of Windows.. I really would like to save some on the OS, if this is possible it could help out a lot.

[Peon]

Originally Posted by Ryan

So was it confirmed that I can decline the EULA and ask for a compensation or refund of the OS?

I have so many copies of Windows.. I really would like to save some on the OS, if this is possible it could help out a lot.

I did it once for fun with an HP laptop back in the early Vista era. IIRC HP cut me a cheque nearly the full price of Vista Home Premium... Maybe $175?

On the plus side, it was definitely a huge subsidy on the laptop. On the minus side, I spent about 2 and a half months going through various escalations and being transferred between different departments chasing that refund.

Nobody knew how to handle a Windows EULA refund - a number of people, including a member of their legal department, told me to talk to Microsoft. I have a feeling that the HP executive who finally cut me a cheque saw it as a bribe to get me to go away, with the Windows refund being just a pretense.

Whether you do it for the money or on principle, it's a pyrrhic victory at best. You'll be making less than minimum wage in any developed country while at the same time dealing with people who couldn't care less about your reasons.

[SemiExpert]

Lenovo ordered to pay ?1920 for making French laptop buyer pay for Windows too - trade, software, Regulation, operating systems, Lenovo, legislation, laptops, hardware systems, government, distribution, desktop pcs - Notebooks - Hardware - Techworl

[jerkface]

Having done a ton of research on this subject, I'm +1 in favor of Clevo and any company that sells and rebrands them. Reviews show them all running very cool with excellent design, tons of custom options, you don't have to buy Windows - or even hard drives or RAM in a lot of cases. Also, the CPU / GPUs in those models are almost always end-user upgradeable / replaceable; you don't see that in most major manufacturer bundles.

I'm actually about to place an order for a Malibal Satori P170HM - killer price on a rebranded Clevo right there, and going to run Archlinux / Compiz on it. Maybe Windows in a VM, have to do something with all those licenses.

[2.0™]

Originally Posted by pengy_666

whatever I decide to type is my prerogative, M$ or Microsoft, it doesn't make no any difference.

It does actually.

I know that when I read a post and I see things like that, I automatically discount the poster's arguments out of hand seeing as they are either not mature enough to posit a meaningful argument or are on a petty crusade against something. Sometimes it's both. Moreover, it denotes that one is likely not a rational individual.

See?

You don't want posters to think that of you do you? Especially when it's not true.

[ALLurGroceries]

I have been writing M$ ever since the antitrust lawsuit, to the point where I have to remind myself to write out "Microsoft" whenever I'm around a more general audience.