On Tuesday 28 January 2003 07:49 pm, Charlie wrote: > On Tuesday 28 January 2003 08:57 am, Kaj Haulrich wrote: > <snip> > > > Thanks, Lyvim and Tony. > > > > The story goes on : 5 minutes ago I had a telephone > > conversation with a Dell Denmark representative. He > > wasn't sure what linux-distro they offered, only he > > gave a guarantee, that an Optiplex SX260 would run > > linux. After some additional pressure I managed to get > > a bargain : > > > > Dell Denmark will deliver an Optiplex with only a > > rudimentary DOS in it. He claimed that it would be > > necessary in order to get the hard disk running (???) > > and maybe for legal reasons. The price cutoff would be > > around 70-80 euros relative to a box with WindowsXP. > > > > Sounds good, eh ? > > > > Kaj Haulrich > > =========================================== > > Powered by Linux - Mandrake > > 9.0 Registered Linux user # 214073 at > > http://counter.li.org Source : my 100 % > > Microsoft-free personal computer. > > =========================================== > > AFAICR the agreement between Dell and Microsoft says > that Dell can't ship barebones boxes; but doesn't > exactly specify what operating system must be included. > Note: included, not installed. One of the ways that's > been found to circumvent MS's heavy handed interference > was to just toss a copy of FreeDOS in with the tower and > ship it. > > A 70 to 80 Euros discount is certainly better than none; > but I'd be curious to know how much of the actual OEM > price they're passing along in that discount. Last I > checked here in Canada Retail Win XP Home Edition goes > for CDN$159.00. The stores in town here that sell > barebones boxen add that to the price. If one is buying > a "preconfigured system;" meaning one that's advertised > as a "Plug'n'Play," the discount (for those willing to > do such a thing) is only CDN$100 or so. The excuse is > "We have to test whether we ship a system with an > Operating System or not." which may sound reasonable but > I don't think so. They have to test, granted, and the > testing is included in the price of the system, not a > part of the OS price in my opinion. > > It's still better than nothing though. > > Regards;
That demystifies things, Charlie. Coming to think about it, the explanation about DOS *to make the hard drive spin* seems utterly nonsense to me. Actually, I wondered if the man knew what he was talking about. The reason to have DOS installed must serve testing purposes, I guess : to test serial, parallel and USB ports, monitor-outlets, floppy drive etc. etc.. That comes for a price, of course. Kaj Haulrich. =========================================== Powered by Linux - Mandrake 9.0 Registered Linux user # 214073 at http://counter.li.org Source : my 100 % Microsoft-free personal computer. ===========================================
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