OS With system?! Why not naked?

A

Amanda

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 29, 2006
Messages
108
Does Dell get a kickback for every system they sell from Microsoft? They do not offer PC's or laptops without the Windows OS? So, if I get it and immediately wipe the drive and put linux on there, I can't resell the old OS, don't want to use it... So, I'm out ~$75 for the OEM version of Windows XP Home? Basically.

So, does MS contribute to the Dell empire? Or do they get such massive discounts as long as they REQUIRE to be installed on the PC's?

That's messed up, man.

Amanda ;)
 
Amanda said:
Does Dell get a kickback for every system they sell from Microsoft?
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Don't be silly...Dell pays MS for every Windows licensed PC they sell, not the other way round.
I have no idea what the fee is, obviously it's less than we pay, but MS is NOT paying Dell.
 
sprocket said:
Don't be silly...Dell pays MS for every Windows licensed PC they sell, not the other way round.
I have no idea what the fee is, obviously it's less than we pay, but MS is NOT paying Dell.
Click to expand...
The thing is that they get their insanely discounted rate based on the fact that they're putting XP on pretty much every system they sell.
 
Cool. Too bad those are the only systems that don't come with an OS. I was hoping for a lappy.

Those are some great prices for someone wanting a cheap linux machine. I may start recommending them to people... Or for folding boxen. ;)

Amanda ;)
 
Amanda said:
Cool. Too bad those are the only systems that don't come with an OS. I was hoping for a lappy.

Those are some great prices for someone wanting a cheap linux machine. I may start recommending them to people... Or for folding boxen. ;)

Amanda ;)
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So why not call in and ask? I used to work for HP, and I know if you called in and asked for a system without an OS, you could get it...saving about $50.
 
Call Dell and tell them you rejected your Windows license; they refunded me $50 for XP Home on my laptop last December. Pro is probably $75.
 
I called and asked if they sold the laptops without OS'es, and they said that they did not.

I'll try to call and say I rejected the license. That's a good idea, since the EULA says if you don't agree with the terms, return it for a refund... :D

Thanks for the awesome tip!

:D

Amanda ;)
 
LazyBastard said:
If you buy a Dell, you deserve what you get...
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For the price, you can't beat it. Price out the parts, even at the cheapest, I still come over what dell charges. I always buy memory upgrades, though (Newegg)...

Their laptops leave a lot to be desired, though. I've got 2 broken ones sitting right here. Same problem. Look up "Dell broken DC Jack" and browse through the flood of pages that show the same problem. There are talks of a class action lawsuit, but nothing yet. I'm in on it as soon as it's open. I no longer recommend the laptops. And I've moved on to getting a better lappy... Fixing these 2 for backups or whatever.

The PC's on the other hand, are great for your general use. Web, Word Processing, Solitare, Email, Music... Not for gaming. Can't beat a $260 system for that. Hell, last time they had the rebate thing going, I got a gal hooked up with a $350 system with a monitor included. Celery 2.66, 256MB RAM, XP Home, CDRW... Nice system, good price. I had to go through it first and remove all the crap (AOL, all the other "Free" stuff, remove Norton 15 day trial, put on AVG, anti-spyware... The usual).

I agree you get what you pay for, and if you're not using it for anything big, no reason to overbuy. Especially for the older crowd that doesn't even know how to install a game, much less play one.
 
LazyBastard said:
If you buy a Dell, you deserve what you get...
Click to expand...


Thats true, and what I got last time around was an SC420 server for less than $280.00 that has been running 24/7 at 100% CPU load for over a year.....pretty damn good in my book.....

I never understood the Dell hate around here ....
 
Amanda said:
I've got 2 broken ones sitting right here. Same problem. Look up "Dell broken DC Jack" and browse through the flood of pages that show the same problem.
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I'm not trying to be rude, but how did you manage to break 2 laptop power jacks? I've been buying Dell laptops for about 5 years and i've never managed to break anything on any of them: Inspirons 8200, 8500, 8600, 9300, 1150 and 6000... and that includes occasionally tripping on the cords and dropping the 8200 and 8500.

Even my more careless brother (Inspirons 8600 and 9300) and sister (her young kids use an Inspiron 1100 a lot) haven't managed to break a power jack. :confused:

Crosshairs said:
I never understood the Dell hate around here ....
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I don't understand it either.
 
sprocket said:
Don't be silly...Dell pays MS for every Windows licensed PC they sell, not the other way round.
I have no idea what the fee is, obviously it's less than we pay, but MS is NOT paying Dell.
Click to expand...
they pay 75 for each copy and sell them to the user for usually $80, although that price has gones down in recent years.
 
Crosshairs said:
Thats true, and what I got last time around was an SC420 server for less than $280.00 that has been running 24/7 at 100% CPU load for over a year.....pretty damn good in my book....
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Just hope that server never dies on you. Dell tech support is complete shit. Back in college, I was working for a department that had 2 labs full of new Dells with "gold" support on them. A case fan started dying on one of them after about 3mo - it would intermitently make a noise best described as "bird in a woodchipper". I called Dell and sat on the phone with them (after waiting on hold) for over an hour so that the phone tech could verify that a $5, user installable, part was failing.

You don't have problems like this with Sun.
 
systems without OSs infer piracy, Dell doesn't want to be in the dark to microsoft or it may lose their agreements.
 
"Don't be silly...Dell pays MS for every Windows licensed PC they sell, not the other way round.
I have no idea what the fee is, obviously it's less than we pay, but MS is NOT paying Dell."

MS does throw marketing money towards companies like Dell who are Windows only on the desktop. That money would disappear if Dell started offering you the option.

MS forces OEM's to always sell an OS with their equipment. The reason why you can't get anything from any OEM bare, is because they aren't allowed.
 
ameoba said:
Just hope that server never dies on you. Dell tech support is complete shit. I called Dell and sat on the phone with them (after waiting on hold) for over an hour so that the phone tech could verify that a $5, user installable, part was failing.
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I didnt buy it for the tech support...and I doubt very much I would stay on the phone more than 1 minute for a $5.00 part.....warranty or not..My time is worth way more than that :)

Mysticcal said:
systems without OSs infer piracy, Dell doesn't want to be in the dark to microsoft or it may lose their agreements.
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wow....just wow.....not everyone uses Windows....why pay for it when your not gonna use it...
 
Not taken as being rude, at all! ;)

I'm a tech. People bring me their broken laptops. These 2 happen to cost more to fix than it is to buy a new laptop. Motherboard on Ebay is $250. Add $50 labor, $300. For $399 (Or $350 with discount), you can get a newer, better laptop. They just went for the newer one and just didn't want the old one, so I aquired them. There are LOTS of people with the same problem on the internet. Just do a search. Some people baby their's, and it still happens, so it's not a matter of use; it's a matter of they were all made on a Friday.

I'm not a Dell hater; I just won't recommend the laptops after reading the NUMEROUS posts of broken laptops. :(

Amanda ;)

pxc said:
I'm not trying to be rude, but how did you manage to break 2 laptop power jacks? I've been buying Dell laptops for about 5 years and i've never managed to break anything on any of them: Inspirons 8200, 8500, 8600, 9300, 1150 and 6000... and that includes occasionally tripping on the cords and dropping the 8200 and 8500.

Even my more careless brother (Inspirons 8600 and 9300) and sister (her young kids use an Inspiron 1100 a lot) haven't managed to break a power jack. :confused:

I don't understand it either.
Click to expand...
 
Crosshairs said:
I didnt buy it for the tech support...



wow....just wow.....not everyone uses Windows....why pay for it when your not gonna use it...
Click to expand...

No not everyone uses windows, but, if you sell alot of pc's without an installed OS, MS could claim, in court, that you are "encouraging" piracy of their os, by not shipping the pc with one.. In the sue happy, piracy ridden day and age we live in that could be a problem for the likes of Dell.. Especially considering how much the courts seem to favour copyright holders these days..
I know it's ludicrous, but it is the way of it...


I don't hate cheap Dells, just the expensive ones that perform like @ss... :D
 
Actually, I doubt they could sell barely any with out an OS. I just don't see the average consumer wanting that.
 
When Dell sells those linux builds you'll notice the FreeDOS shipping with it. That's because they're bound by MS contract to ship an OS. Plenty of people want machines without an OS, so they could put a free copy of Windows on there. Dell won't do it and the Linux machines they sell are pretty overpriced.
 
general said:
When Dell sells those linux builds you'll notice the FreeDOS shipping with it. That's because they're bound by MS contract to ship an OS.
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I bought my SC420 without an OS...Not Linux, not Windows..Nothing...it came with a motherboard driver disc, and thats all.....


You can go to Dells site right now and buy a SC 430 with no OS.....
 
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