[pp.int.general] Microsoft Drafts ConsumersInFightAgainstSoftware Piracy: Carrot And Stick

[Reinier Bakels]

> > The issue was not whether you are forced to USE it, but whether you are
> > forced to PAY for it. And I never heard that you can get your money back 
> > if
> > you buy e.g. a laptop bundled with Windows and say you don't use it. The
> > vendor certainly has no obligation to refund you after you bought the
> > software. Anyway, a large part of MS sales comes from sw bundled with 
> > new
> > computers.
>
> Actually, Dell, HP etc. will refund. It's part of the contract, if you
> decline the windows license, you can return to the vendor for a
> purchase price. I spoke to one of the Swiss pirates and he told me he
> was doing that just last week.

Is this perhaps one of those obligations imposed on MS because of antitrust 
regulations?
When I paid 350 euro's for my ASUS "Eee" netbook with XP half a year ago I 
got no explicit contract just a single bill. You must be an insider to know 
that you have the right to get a refund. Anyway, most people don't ask for 
the refund. IIRC MS suffered a decline in sales because less people bought a 
new computer because of the credit crisis.

BTW I am sooooooooo glad that I stil can run XP. What on earth do I miss 
because I don't use Windows 7? The only problem I experience is that Wifi 
sometimes is a bit shaky - but that may be a hardware problem as well. 
Often, not any network is shown, and I have to start the reset cycle. But 
the connection is stable once it is estabished.

reinier