Microsoft: Don't Sell PCs Without Operating Systems

ZDNet ^ | 4/5/06 | Graeme Wearden

[ez]

There are two issues...selling machines with counterfeit os's and selling machines with NO os's. steve-b's "impudence" remark addressed the latter, while you zeroed in on the former, and misapplied his remark.

Referee services available free of charge...

[Doe Eyes]

Greed is the word.

Pretend that people don't install bootleg (stolen) software on their new computers.

[impatient]

Pretend that people don't install bootleg (stolen) software on their new computers.

That's a bit like not allowing people to sell Sudafed because a few bad apples... oh wait... my commie state is actually stupid enough to think that way... bad analogy.

S/W pirates build their own PCs, steal their own PCs, or pull them out of dumpsters. Someone who pays for a brand new, brand name vendor is not going to quibble over $70. The only people who will buy OSless PCs are corporations and people doing so on principle. The former doesn't tend to intentionally pirate and the latter wouldn't be caught dead with Windows.

[Golden Eagle]

The FSF talking about a Microsoft "tax"? Funny, since those at the FSF like its founder Richard Stallman want a REAL software tax.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=fsf+%22software+tax%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t-332&x=wrt

[Knitebane]

HTF did these nutcases leap to that conclusion?

Oh, I don't know. Maybe because it's happened before?

For the record, The Business Software Alliance was created by Microsoft.

They are the enforcment arm of Microsoft's thuggish behavior.

Microsoft sales drones routinely threaten BSA audits.

[DemosCrash]

No, completely different situations. Ernie Ball and Virgina Beach were contacted by the BSA to verify license compliance. The terms of the licenses allowed the BSA to perform audits. Read the EULA. The reason that Ball and Virgina Beach were fined is that they couldn't come up with licenses for all of the software that they had installed. In my opinion, there were probably whistleblowers at both sites that turned 'em in for a reward. It happens more often than you realize.

As for naked PCs, the BSA has no authority to conduct license compliance on machines that aren't shipped with licensed products. Period. End of story.

[DemosCrash]

What do you expect? They can't get enough people to pay for their overhyped crapware.

[DemosCrash]

's a bit like not allowing people to sell Sudafed because a few bad apples... oh wait... my commie state is actually stupid enough to think that way... bad analogy.

FYI, most states do allow the sale of Sudafed -- but they have specific limitations on the quantity of products that you can buy, in order to prevent losers from buying crates of the stuff to make meth.

[antiRepublicrat]

Are monopolistic practices legal in UK?

The EU is pretty harsh about it. Microsoft is currently going through something with their antitrust department, but I don't believe the complaint involves behavior like this.

[Knitebane]

Read the EULA.

EULAs are the problem. They require you to submit to an inspection of ALL of your machines.

The reason that Ball and Virgina Beach were fined is that they couldn't come up with licenses for all of the software that they had installed.

Actually, they weren't fined. They settled rather than have their doors continue to be locked while the BSA performed months of audits.

As for naked PCs, the BSA has no authority to conduct license compliance on machines that aren't shipped with licensed products. Period. End of story.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Read your EULA. If you have a copy of Office, and Microsoft thinks you may have it installed on another machine, they have the right to inspect that machine no matter what OS shipped on it. You agree to this when you click your EULA.

[bigdcaldavis]

I bought the Wintergreen 2.4GHz PC on Tigerdirect...the one that came with Linspire pre-installed. I added 512MB RAM for a total of 768MB RAM, and it runs really great (with the base 256MB RAM, it was a tad sluggish). I have a bucketload of CNR files on my CNR DVD-R, and I have a Debian package called CNRtoDEB which converts CNR files into DEB files.

I've discovered that Linspire is perfect for my desktop, while my laptop runs Xandros. They're both really good OS choices. I love LSongs.

[dennisw]

Nice going - here's a very good board. https://www.epoxstore.com/Product_Detail.asp?Product_ID=1074

I bought two of them. Made a computer with one. Very good overclocker. With a cheap socket A Sempron you can get on Ebay for $40-50 http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=sempron+++-754&sacat=3671%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&fsop=3%26fsoo%3D1&fgtp=&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&fis=2&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=