Slashdot Mirror
Dell To Offer Windows-Less PCs
An anonymous reader submits: "As a follow-up to the Slashdot story Dell No Longer Selling Systems w/o Microsoft OS, News.com is reporting that Dell will sell systems without Windows. Microsoft's new licensing terms stipulate they can't sell PC's without an OS (hence the removal of the NoOS option), so Dell will be offering FreeDOS as an option for some computers. It will come with the computer, but not installed, so that users may install any other OS that they wish. It's a very creative interpretation of Microsoft's licensing terms, and one I imagine Microsoft didn't have in mind."
Hooah for Dell.
I use M$ products, I'm gaining their certifications, but I don't like how they do a lot of their business, and I think Dell's doing something great here by not just bending to each one of the big corporation's wishes.
Kudos Dell!
- Jones
I assert that my comment is only my opinion, not that of any employer, past, present or future.
It's a very creative interpretation of Microsoft's licensing terms, and one I imagine Microsoft didn't have in mind."
Do you really think that Microsoft didn't think of this possibility? Do you really think that amongst all of their lawyers, advertising people, etc. they couldn't think of an outcome such as this?
Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if Dell went to Microsoft and asked them what the other options were, and Microsoft told them that this WAS one of them!
While a few years ago Microsoft would have tracked down everything non-Windows, they seem to have backed to the position to accept everything that is not Linux.
Microsoft is on the defensive in every market. They have to pay people to keep using Windows (Peru, etc. Anybody guess how long other countries figure that out and want a similar deal? Peru could be a big disaster for MSFT) which doesn't sound like a viable business model in the long-term for me.
Windows-domination will in a couple of years.