Laptop help

Jepri jepri at webone.com.au
Wed Dec 4 00:50:47 EST 2002


On 2002.12.03 17:44 "Hamilton, James" wrote:
> Hi
> 
> 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?

Talk to the local distributors.  And keep beating at them.  The dumb 
sales guy may try and tell you that it is the law that they have to 
sell you windows.  Usually there will be someone else there who knows 
better.

As usual, try and talk to someone technical.  Go into the store in 
person and try to talk to the techs.  Come prepared with some technical 
questions that the sales tools can't answer, so they have to pass you 
on.  While talking to the techs, start asking about laptops.

The smaller stores are better.  When it comes to negotiating a price, 
just tell them you don't need windows, you can fix that up yourself.

Perhaps someone else on the list can confirm what I have unofficially 
heard, which is that stores don't make much of a markup on windows 
(especially preinstalled ones), so they'll be happy to leave it out.



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