Linux Pre-installed on a AMD 64-bit Based System for $300 (LinuxElectrons) [LWN.net]

Linux Pre-installed on a AMD 64-bit Based System for $300 (LinuxElectrons)

Posted Jul 14, 2006 2:41 UTC (Fri) by azhrei_fje (guest, #26148) [Link]

So now press releases are news?

Okay, here's a quote from the "article":

Most companies offering an entry level system under $300 usually provide much less processing power, smaller hard drives, a standard CD-ROM, and no floppy drive.

I'm sorry, but the Athlon64 system I bought at BestBuy last summer did better: Athlon64 3200+ @ 2.2GHz, a DVD burner AND a CD-ROM, a 160GB hard drive, a 15" monitor, and an inkjet printer. With rebates, it came to $325 or thereabouts. Of course, it was an eMachines, so I probably won't do that again without good reason. :)

And considering it was a business deduction (I'm self-employed), it was a great deal: $800 on the receipt (for my IRS deduction, which means it only cost me $550), $300 in charitable contributions for the monitor and printer that were donated to the elementary school, and $450 in rebates. I figure I actually made money on this purchase. :)

Oh, and the few bucks I got back from BestBuy when I took my Windows CDs in and told them I wanted my money back on the software. They didn't know how to handle that request. As the MasterCard commercial says: Priceless.

Linux Pre-installed on a AMD 64-bit Based System for $300 (LinuxElectrons)

Posted Jul 14, 2006 11:19 UTC (Fri) by ewan (subscriber, #5533) [Link]

You actually got money back for the Windows CDs? How much? How hard was
it?

Linux Pre-installed on a AMD 64-bit Based System for $300 (LinuxElectrons)

Posted Jul 14, 2006 18:33 UTC (Fri) by xorbe (subscriber, #3165) [Link]

And how did he get Windows CDs with an OEM machine? Not that I care...
but I thought they stopped doing that.

Linux Pre-installed on a AMD 64-bit Based System for $300 (LinuxElectrons)

Posted Jul 15, 2006 5:39 UTC (Sat) by azhrei_fje (guest, #26148) [Link]

It came with a partition on the harddrive that acts as the "recovery partition", and the CDs were of the extras: drivers, give-away apps, and so on.

I had to fight a bit with the BestBuy. Here is where I got the inspiration to try it.

The salesperson at the store couldn't understand that I wanted my money back. So he did what everyone does when faced with something they can't handle: he passed the buck. It went to the store manager eventually. He told me that it was shipped with the machine and I couldn't get my money back. I told him that when I powered up the box, there was a EULA from Microsoft that said if I declined the LA, I could return all original media to the retailer for a refund of the price paid.

Now, when I ordered the machine, they claimed that the price of Windows was $0. I tried to follow the outline given in the link above, but I relented after awhile. I accepted $50 in exchange for the CDs.

The linked article describes how the author played this out, all the way to small claims court, where he got a refund of the retail price of the software. But after about a week of calls back and forth to the manager, I felt sorry for the guy. (My SO's comment was, "He's probably got a wife and kids to feed," so I guess I'm a bit of a softie. Not next time, though.)

When I buy another machine, I won't let the manager pay me off, though. I'll ask for the full retail price and when they refuse, I'll take it to BestBuy corporate. If they refuse and I take it to small claims court here in FL, it'll cost them money. (In FL, corporations must be represented by legal counsel during court proceedings of any kind!) So it would be less expensive for them to just refund the box price. If they don't, I'll subpoena their purchase records and those of their supplier(s) until I find out exactly what was paid for the OEM version of Windows that is pre-installed. I'm sure the rest of the country (world?) would like to know! ;)

It was fun, in any case. I'll bookmark this page and return here when I buy my next machine so that I can update the saga. :)