hi,
the indian finance minister has proposed in the annual budget speech last
week of february 2003, to exempt the cost of OEM software,
bundled in the with the hardware, for branded PCs sold in india. thus,
branded PCs selling bundled software on an OEM license, will only have to pay
excise duty on the hardware component.
the press and media has pointed out how this will make the price of such
computers cheaper for customers as the PC sellers are expected to pass on
this benefit to the customer. and everyone applauded.
but, i ask everyone to boldly question this withdrawal.
*IF* a customer wants to buy a branded PC without the bundled OEM software,
and have the machine thus sold to him/her at the reduced price, this is
impossible in india. check out the postings on linux-delhi.org for example.
customers are politely told that the price of the machine *includes* the
OEM-software. if the customer wishes to buy the machine without the bundle
and thus without the price, this is *not* possible. in fact, customers have
to pay the *total* cost. then, the customer boots the machine at his/her own
initiative, clicks on 'reject' or 'do not accept' on the End User License
Agreement (EULA) of any bundled software, and is *expected* to get a refund
from the publishers of the bundled software, *after* buying the machine at
full price, rejecting the EULA preferably with a witness, and then following
up and demanding a refund with the OEM directly.
sigh!
it is actually much easier to customise the hardware with RAM, video cards,
peripherals, hard disks, removable drives, *than* to (excuse the pun) boot
out the OEM software.
thus, i ask all to propose, lobby, request, suggest, recommend the following
to the govt, trade organisations, nasscom, mait, etc etc:
let the excuse be levied on those who wish to sell machines with bundled
software. this is because the customer is told to perceive the machine as a
'total' product, and more importantly, to *dissuade* and *discourage* the
bundling of OEM software and promoting fair competition.
the excise component thus collected from the sale of such machines, must be
used by the government for the developement/funding, etc of freedom-based
operating systems, solutions, egovernance initiatives, education initiatives,
etc. this is because we do not have a cohesive freedom-based software
initiative at a national level, like China. check out red dragon linux to
figure out what i mean.
in simple angrezie: tax the bundled software regime, to help the IT
development on freedom-based software. tax the bundled software regime, to
discourage them from bundling software.
let market forces propel customers to their choice of software. let people
have freedom in choosing software, rather than have something thrust on them
that takes considerable effort to reject and choose an alternative.
additionally, any non-freedom based software sold in the country, (even if
not bundled with any hardware) must be similarly taxed for the same
objectives.
to understand freedom in software, check out www.gnu.org
please respond with your suggestions only to the mailing lists, not directly
to my mail box, and let's hope something can be done.
your consciousness is the only revolution.
:-)
LL
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