Re: [PLUG] Laptop recommendations

On Mar 1, 2017 1:14 PM, "Greg Helledy" <gregsonh@gra-inc.com> wrote:

Your point b) is perfectly valid, but a) does not exist. Assuming you want a prebuilt computer, sold and warranted as a single product (vs. a collection of components you assemble), market forces nearly always cause you to pay a premium for a computer that does NOT come with an MS OS installed, if you can find one on offer at all. Such computers are rare specialty items, usually sold in small numbers, by small vendors. The lack of volume means higher prices for equivalent hardware.

Installed copies of Windows can be that rare thing, an item with a negative value. I would have been willing to pay a small premium for my Dell Inspiron 11", to get one which would be supported under warranty without Windows installed. However, Dell wouldn't sell me one. And, in the market, equivalent PCs will often cost less with Windows installed than with linux or no OS.

As one example, the Dell XPS 13 with Core i7 seems to be $1,650 on the Dell website right now, with Windows 10. The XPS 13 Developer Edition is $1,850 with Ubuntu. The DE comes with 16GB RAM instead of 8GB, but that's the only hardware difference I can see at a glance. Another 8GB of RAM shouldn't be more than $50, if that. So in practical terms there's a $150+ "M$discount", not a tax. You'd have to pay Dell that much to avoid the sale of one Windows license, which probably brings MS $10-$20, I'm guessing.

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-13-9360-laptop/dncwt5122hv2

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?oc=cax13ubuntuh5133&model_id=xps-13-9360-laptop&l=en&s=bsd

On 3/1/2017 12:42 PM, plug-request@lists.phillylinux.org wrote:

I don't see the point of paying money (a) for something I won't use, and
worse (b) which will go towards attacking free / open source software. The
days of calling Linux a cancer or a communist plot may be gone, but today's
attacks are more insidious. So, no M$tax from my pocket...

--
Greg Helledy
GRA, Incorporated
P: +1 215-884-7500
F: +1 215-884-1385
www.gra.aero
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