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I read the link, and it had an interesting blurb...

N-series PCs will cost the same as PCs that ship with Windows, a Dell representative said.

I would like to know why Dell doesn't discount the computers that ship w/o an OS. Is this part of their OEM contract with MS?... Or is Dell just bucking for the "MS buttboy of the year" award?

I would like to know why Dell doesn't discount the computers that ship w/o an OS. Is this part of their OEM contract with MS?... Or is Dell just bucking for the "MS buttboy of the year" award?

Because the cost of the Windows license to Dell is negligible. Some tax.

By the way, the reason you're seeing these changes isn't because companies are moving to Linux. It's because many of them are adopting subscription licensing -- and they don't want to pay for the same license twice. Dell wants to move computers. It doesn't care what runs on them. Anything to grease the skids.

Re: Pricing. I suspect that this is a misquote, because my experience has been that the machines without M$ are cheaper. Frequently, these are already sold into sites that already have site license for Windows or other software, or they're sold to run non-Windows Operating Systems. Check with Dell.

I would like to know why Dell doesn't discount the computers that ship w/o an OS

The 1994 consent decree signed by Microsoft allowed Dell to do what it wanted with its own hardware without any interference from M$. However, M$ has recently decided to "clarify" any potential "loopholes" in the consent decree which of course had the nett effect of dictating to Dell what Dell could or could not do with its own systems that did not involve M$. So, Dell struck back and is returning to the policy of shipping systems without an installed OS. Dell just flipped M$ the bird.