On Monday 22 March 2010 21:21:26 KH wrote: > Am 22.03.2010 20:17, schrieb Mick: > > TBH, I wouldn't pay money for it but as many OEM impose a MSWindows tax > > on all of us I had no other option if I wanted to buy this particular > > laptop. > > You can refuse the license agreement and give windows back. If you are > lucky, the vendor will give you some money back. > > kh
Yeah right, good luck with that. Three people in my entire country are known to have gotten that right, 2 from Toshiba. In all three cases, the hardware vendor refunded the cost as a PR exercise. Microsoft are dead sneaky about this one, at least under ZA law. The hardware vendor accepted the license to install it (remember it's on OEM install not a box set), and you buy the hardware knowing full well that it comes with Windows. That's part of the deal and there is no deal on the table where the machine does not have Windows. There is nothing unfair about this. No vendor has a *duty* so sell you what you want and they cannot be forced to. Microsoft does not enforce that vendors sell Windows-only machines (and they proved as such to the relevant Commission). Vendors almost uniformly virtually every model with Windows, the exceptions are low grade machines the no sane person would buy today, and servers). This is not even anti-competitive, the vendor can sell what they like and can offer only a certain OS of they choose. Much like a Toyota dealer is perfectly free to sell only Toyotas and cannot be forced to offer Hondas as well. -- alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com
