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HP's Windows Bundle Trouble

Posted by Zonk on from the i'm-sorry-please-enter-your-option-again dept.

narramissic writes "A French consumer group has filed 3 lawsuits against HP, saying the company's practice of selling consumer PCs with Windows pre-installed violates a French law that 'prohibits linking the functionality of a product to another product' — not to mention that consumers wind up paying for an unwanted OS. For its part, HP contends that it is not in violation of the law because the OS is integral to the PC. 'The PC without an OS is not a product because it doesn't work,' said Alain Spitzmuller, legal affairs director for HP France. 'We believe the market is for products that work.'"

7 of 697 comments (clear)

  1. Foot, may I introduce... by Loco+Moped · · Score: 5, Funny

    He's pretty much shot himself in the foot, 'cause now he's got to prove that Windows works.

    1. Re:Foot, may I introduce... by rrohbeck · · Score: 5, Funny

      He's pretty much shot himself in the foot, 'cause now he's got to prove that Windows works.

      Unfortunately, it works very well. As a host for botnets, for example.

      --
      thegodmovie.com - watch it
    2. Re:Foot, may I introduce... by megaditto · · Score: 5, Funny

      WTF are you smoking? Who would use a window as a doorstop... Especially on Slashdot, where most readers live Windows-Free?

      (since their mothers' basements do not have any)

      --
      Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
  2. We believe the market is for products that work by Taagehornet · · Score: 5, Funny
    'The PC without an OS is not a product because it doesn't work,' said Alain Spitzmuller, legal affairs director for HP France. 'We believe the market is for products that work.'
    That would be like selling printers without including the paper... Oh, never mind...
  3. Hey HP heres an idea by voss · · Score: 4, Funny

    Inserting into purchasing process

    WHICH OPERATING SYSTEM DO YOU WANT PRE-INSTALLED

    ( ) Windows (add $99)
    ( ) Red Hat Linux (add $39)
    ( ) Suse (add $39)
    ( ) NONE

  4. Re:He's an idiot by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
    Last I checked, Newegg wasn't including a copy of Windows every time I bought a computer from them.

    That may explain why this French consumer group is suing HP instead of Newegg.

  5. Re:CAR ANALOGY ALERT! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I totally agree. This whole thread is like a car that has a bunch of bumper stickers containing inappropriate analogies slapped all over it.