Leopard vs Vista 4: Naked Sales
,----[ Quote ]
| The vast majority of PCs come with Windows pre-installed, and actually
| can't be sold without it. Leading PC hardware makers can't freely
| advertise PCs sold without Windows, or with an alternative OS such as
| Linux, without having to pay Microsoft significantly more for every
| other OEM license they ship.
|
| That's why all name brand PCs prominently repeat their own version of
| the cult-like phrase "Dell recommends Windows XP Professional," as if
| there were a choice in the matter and they thought it would be helpful
| to provide some guidance.
|
| For PC users who don't use Windows, this is understandably annoying,
| particularly since users of Linux--the primary Windows desktop
| alternative for PCs--aren't happy to be forced to support the company
| they are working to replace.
|
| It's difficult, but not impossible, to be refunded the cost of Windows
| when buying a new name brand PC. While Dell has no set policy, the
| company has on occasion refunded customers who requested it.
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http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Q4.06/D88F5A66-75C4-4517-8B81-CD2E11CF2838.html
http://tinyurl.com/yjnxaj
Good read on the econmic deadlock:
Linux rises, but Vista still rules
,----[ Quote ]
| Looking for a cheap PC this holiday season? Good luck trying to find one
| with anything but Windows on it.
|
| That's odd. Linux is more popular than ever, Apple is resurging, and
| Microsoft's efforts to put Windows Vista on store shelves have been hobbled
| by delays. You'd think consumers would have more choice as the holiday
| season kicks off.
|
| [...]
|
| While Microsoft can't punish companies for selling rival operating
| systems, machines with anything but Windows installed don't help PC
| makers meet the quotas necessary to pay Microsoft lower rates.
|
| "Microsoft doesn't leave much room for negotiation," says Citigroup
| analyst Brent Thill. Nor does it have to.
|
| What if Linux went luxe?
|
| Hewlett-Packard could, in theory, save some money upfront by putting
| Linux on 10 percent of the desktop PCs it sells at retail. But that
| would just make the rest of its Windows desktops more expensive,
| because it would no longer be selling as many Windows licenses as
| archrival Dell, and Microsoft could legally charge it more.
|
| HP, which recently overtook Dell the world's largest PC maker, can't
| afford to hand its vanquished rival any cost advantages.
|
| In a nutshell, switching to a rival OS system will hurt more than
| help the bottom lines of PC makers. The straightforward economic
| scheme that regulators set up to keep Microsoft in check is
| essentially keeping the PC industry in the Windows fold - just as
| Redmond's brass-knuckle tactics once did.
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http://biz.yahoo.com/hbusn/061109/110106_microsoft_vista_biz2.html?.v=1
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