Slashdot Mirror
Californians Can Get Free MS-Settlement PCs
soliaus writes "Seeing as how Microsoft recently lost the anti-trust lawsuit in California, Lindows has taken charge and is offering people free Lindows-related goodies. Basically, Lindows files a claim on your behalf, they keep the money, and you can get a copy of Lindows; a Click-N-Run subscription; a free PC; or other Lindows goods. More information about filing a claim on your own can be found here." (Note that this only applies if you purchased a computer for use in California.) Other companies will probably come out with their own approach to trading settlement money for goods, too, so if Lindows isn't your choice, waiting is a good idea.
Well, I really have no interest in Lindows, but this is a great idea! RedHat should be doing this!
That this 1.1 billion dollars won't even come close to bankrupting Microsoft
The point of the settlement wasn't to bankrupt m$, it was to make them pay for damages caused by anti-competitive practices...
i think i'd much rather have the money than a crippled copy of debian. Is there no provision to get cash back instead of an operating system you don't want?
You must act quickly before your state or whatever entity decides to use the settlement money to make up for shortfalls in their budget, i.e. Tennessee and the Tobacco settlement.
Note that participating in this involves signing over your claim to Lindows. This is probably a good thing. Lindows are a major pain in the ass for the boys from Redmond, and they deserve our general support for this.
It's hard to understand the hostility some people demonstrate towards Lindows, which is a good package, well-made and well-supported. It's not ideal for pioneer Linux users, but you do have a large choice of alternatives. What Lindows has done is to demonstrate the possibility of a migration path from Windows to Linux, and for we should be grateful.
Incidentally, to those who say Lindows is "crippleware" it's very hard to cripple Debian, which classically bootstraps from a diskette. You do need to know what a shell prompt is, and how to use apt-get, but that's about it.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Yeah. Scare tactics. I know I always run straight to McDonalds when they say "Limited Time Offer." God forbid I miss out on 99 cent Big Macs.
Who exactly is Lindows scaring with this offer? They don't even have to offer it at all. Why should they have to make it any longer than they want to?
It's really an advantage to them, when it is supposed to punish them. In exchange for giving away some free CD's that cost them about 1.4 cents each to press, they get a huge foothold in the CA schools, which are a main cash-cow for Apple. Bureaucracy as it is, once you get the momentum going with free crap from MS, you become beholden to it in the long term. In a few years when the vouchers run out but the computers are still around, you better believe they will be shelling out cash for Windows XYZ or whatever pourous OS comes down the pike. Remember, this is a company sitting on a savings account of $100 billion! They could give the stuff away and still make money just by charging for upgrades...
(With homage to Please, we all understand that you can build a "Most Excellent" PC with glowing neon lights and water
I'm sure that the lawyers are very happy with this case against Microsoft because for every dollar that Microsoft is fined the lawyers will get a dime. It's the case of the lesser of the two evils - whilst Microsoft may have a few questionable business practices, it's the lawyers that are bleeding this country dry.
And as you've pointed out, it's very hypocritical for Slashdot to cheer on this lawsuit whilst criticizing SCO.
Allowing courts and governments to determine pricing is bad precedent.
Californian's wonder why businesses are leaving in droves will soon see other effects. You cannot have predatory governments and courts and expect your economy to thrive.
Right now the cost of doing business is not high enough to force everyone out, but inch by inch they leave. (iow, we know Ms will never leave, but there are smaller companies who other effects of the abuse of government and courts there)
Don't cheer crap like this.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
I got all the way through the wizard and then they told me that these claims can be audited and that you could be prosecuted to fullest extent of the law. Well, damn.. when I read that you don't need receipts, I also think that I don't need any proof of purchase, including the software itself.
Damn.
Stupid.
Avoid giving in to the temptation to just list things you haven't purchased. You are declaring, under penalty of perjury, that you really did buy them. And unless you're the president of the US, perjury is a serious offense.
Nothing will go to schools either way.
All that tobacco settlement money that was earmarked for health care in Cali went where? Straight up someones ass.
That state is so in debt, and so fucked up, that all that cash would be misspent anyways.
And it ain't like Bustamante is going to fix things (and I guarantee he'll win - hell, he's a hardcore racist hispanic running in a state that will give a drivers license to illegals).
I'm still waiting for the other Distro's to do a lot of things that Lindows gets right...and I keep waiting, and waiting...
Lindows has it going on.
Samuel
ummmm
except this lawsuit has merit
SCOs doesn't
and...bitch all you want about lawyers...it's more work than it seems.
For every dollar of lease or loan for Wintel machine, they keep a dime. Even when a refund from the MS occurs, they still get to keep thier dime.
Who cares if the bankers provide a service. Who cares if the bankers have evey right to try to make a profit just like everyone else. Who cares if nothing large gets bought or sold without such services.
No, lets just complain that they are making profits while doing nothing. That is the mature, educated, and informed thing to do.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
They are deciding through a court what you or a corporation is permitted to charge.
Only if you or the corporation is a convicted monopolist.
The normal assumption is that market forces will ensure a reasonable degree of equity. In the case of a monopoly, those market forces do not exist and some other form of relief is necessary.