Laptop help

Peter Ortner port at iname.com
Tue Dec 3 22:25:54 EST 2002


"Hamilton, James" wrote:

> I have decided that I deserve a nice Xmas present and am going to buy myself
> a laptop. However I refuse to pay for an OS that I will bin as soon as I
> unwrap it. Preliminary discussions with Dell and Compaq have indicated that
> they will not sell me a laptop without an m$ license attached (for several
> humdred $$ no doubt!). Has anyone had success in buying an unencumbered
> laptop lately?
>
> I know Geoffery Benet from SA got a refund from Toshi. Does anyone know of
> any recent wins that I can quote as precedence when it comes to the blue?

Against my better judgement, I recently sprang for an IBM ThinkPad R32.
Attached to the outside of the bag that the machine was in was a rather sticky
sticker. It read (the English part - we don't care for French):

"Important - Read before Removing

"Please read the accompanying liccense agreements carefully before using the
programs included with the system. These agreements detail your rights,
obligations and warranties for the software included with this system

"By using the programs you agree to teh terms of these agreements. If you do
not acceptt he agreements included with this system, do not use the programs.
Instead, promptly return the system for a full refund"

Of course, the silly bit is that all the EULA's are *inside* the package, as
electronic agreements on the machine. I don't like your chances of getting a
"name brand" machine sans M$ tax these days.

HTH.




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