There are a couple of parts to the problem. It used to be you'd get a CD with the full OS on it, in the case you needed to add files or install a new hard drive. Microsoft felt that this led to piracy, so they no longer allow those OS CDs to be shipped with computers. The manufacturer has the choice of creating a Recovery CD (branded to the computer) or a Recovery Image (hidden on the hard drive), but both of those solutions have some problems.
Check out these links:
Readers decry Microsoft policy of withholding operating system CD
The State of Michigan worked out a deal last year to get computers for all the teachers in the state, their choice of Dell laptop or desktop (several models of each), or a Macintosh.
She picked out the Dell with the best specs (933 PIII, 20G HD, etc.), and it arrived with Win98 and (as far as my cursory nosing around has determined) 1. a Windows CD that can be used to reinstall, repair, etc., 2. "Recovery" CDs (the usual "flush the toilet and kiss your data goodbye" Ghosted partition -- with Ghost included), and the entire Win98 installation set (the CABs, etc.) in a dir on the hard drive.
So, while the machine is not bereft of drawbacks (i.e., it's really slot-poor), I don't see any evidence of the conspiracy theory being promulgated in this thread.
Now, what they didn't include in any installable form is the bundled copy of Office. That means that the only way to "reinstall" Office is to wipe the drive clean and Ghost it from the CDs.
This bugs me no end, as I put our (legal, purchased, not on any other machine, so don't even go there) copy of Win2000 Pro on the machine in a dual-boot configuration, there's no way I can move Office to it! Since doing so wouldn't violate any licensing provisions, it kinda bugs me that Dell would do that.
I think I should be able to install it from my CD set (which I got as a gratuity for being an Office beta tester) by using the serial number displayed in the Win98 boot.
Mainly, though, I hate Dell because they keep running those commercials on Fox News with the "Dude, yer gettin' a Dell! slack-jawed moron. (And as a sign of just how far the country has slid, my wife reports that her students keep going on about how "cool" the slackjaw is. Oh, the humanity, etc.)