[svlug] Windows rebates in Israel

[Don Marti]

begin Rick Moen quotation of Thu, Dec 04, 2008 at 12:07:35AM -0800:

> There have already been (roughly) a half-dozen similar cases over the years.

Dell has done several recently.  Their policy seems
to be that they'll eat the cost of the MSFT license if
you go through the Windows Refund dance.  (Don't boot
it, don't accept the EULA, write a letter, work your
way through the phone support maze until someone says
yes.)  If enough people do it, they'll probably start
collecting the MSFT stickers and sending them back.

Over the past few years, Dell has finally started
to realize that even if you do prefer one vendor's
product, single sources give your supplier too
much power.  Example: Dell opts for AMD's Opteron
  http://news.cnet.com/Dell-opts-for-AMDs-Opteron/2100-1006_3-6074059.html

  This page:
    http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/about_dell/company/leadership/msd_computers?c=us&l=en&s=corp&redirect=1
  no longer has a Linux box on it, though.

> It's amazing how shameless both the OEMs and Microsoft Corp. are about
> honouring the terms of their own EULA (specifically, the clause that
> very clearly says that you _must_ return the OS for a refund if you
> don't accept its licence terms) unless you drag them through either
> endless months of bureaucracy or the courts.

Try reading the bushel of legalese that comes with
a new Lenovo laptop.  There's actually a "no Windows
Refund Day" section in there: they will not issue a
refund for bundled software without the hardware.
(Large PC vendors won't accept a purchase order from
small companies.  They want you to use a credit card
and click through their one-sided contract, which is
how they enforce this kind of stuff.)

Of course, when I'm Pirate Czar, all this will change.

-- 
Don Marti                                        +1 510-814-0932
http://zgp.org/~dmarti/                          +1 510-332-1587 mobile
dmarti at zgp.org