[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
On Tuesday 31 October 2006 06:16, Simon Waters wrote: > Michael Mortimore wrote: > > On the other hand, who actually buys windows? > > On past experience, almost everyone who owns a PC. Therin lies Microsofts ace card! Because of the way Windows is marketed and the pressures put upon retailers (via cheap OEM versions of Windows providing they don't sell competitive products), it is almost impossible to buy a PC or laptop without Windows. For a simple experiment, try going to PCWorld or Dixons or any other PC "superstore" and look around the computers. When the salesperson comes up to ask if they can help - ask if they can sell you a PC without Windows. Although there are a couple of retailers selling "sans Windows", it is very hard to get hold of a decent spec machine without Windows - never mind with a Linux distro installed instead. I tend to build my own PCs, so that isn't a problem, but laptops are another matter. The laptop I am using now came with XP - no choice in the matter, it was XP pre-installed. I thus had to pay for something I did not want, purely to get the laptop. Whatever the EULA states on the shrinkwrapped CD, it seems to be impossible to get your money back on OEM installs of XP - to be honest, I didn't even bother trying, I just wiped the lot and installed a "properating system" instead ;) Mark -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html