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No More Fair-Price Refund For Declining XP EULA
mark0 writes "Getting a fair-price refund from Amazon or Asus after declining the Windows XP EULA appears to be a thing of the past. In contrast to reports from the US and the UK from earlier in the year, Amazon simply refuses and provides information to contact Microsoft. Asus is offering US$6. Despite being confronted with publicly available information about the real OEM price of Windows XP Home Edition being $US25-US$30, Asus replies, 'The refund price for the decline of the EULA is correct in it being US$6. This price unfortunately is not negotiable. I do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please be assured that it is not ASUS intentions to steer you away in any which way.'"
Res0und as fitting
Is to give the fucking operating system away to everyone I know.
I'm a white, middle class kinda guy who is sick of getting shit on and sick of seeing others getting shit on. So, my response is to pass along copies of the OS any way I can.
Tipping point is near...
Which is something that the IANALs on here don't get: most reasonable people do consider Windows to be an integral part of the purchase, and not a bundle of hardware and software. Unless you buy a linux machine, the OEM is not going to guarantee that linux drivers are available for the hardware. Hell, most people don't even know linux is. That I do, and I use it, does not change reality. Windows is an integral a part of a PC (that ships with Windows) as the power supply is, and the ramblings of a vocal 1% do not make law or influence judges.
The reason people aren't mad as hell about it is because the whole thing is based upon a disingenuous argument. To wit, that there's this mythological person who both 1) has no idea that Windows has a EULA yet 2) is able and ready to install an alternative OS. For all intents and purposes, such a person doesn't exist. If you want a computer without Windows, order one from the factory without Windows. If there's enough demand, large manufacturers will start offering fairly priced OS-free computers again in the consumer retail environment. In the meantime, buy your system from a smaller, more cooperative OEM or build your own PC from components. But it's disingenuous to indignantly claim that "oh I had no idea when I placed my order that I was going to have to agree to an EULA on this machine laden with Windows stickers, so I want a full refund."
And bottom line, very few people care. At lesat at the consumer retail level, most people who buy a computer with Windows actually WANT a computer with Windows. See if you can get Apple to discount OSX from their macs. I know, "it's different, they're not a convicted monopolist. It's ok for them to price gouge me."