I don't want WIN for my T61! Can I get a refund?

There are some news that "soon" IBM will start offering laptops with SuSe installed but with the school year round the corner I cannot afford to wait long before I order my ThinkPad. Since I will only be using Linux, I wish to buy it OS free but there is no such option available. Hence my question: do you know if I could claim a refund should I destroy the WIN installed? Is there any way not to pay "Microsoft Tax" ?

 

You can probably call them and ask for Free DOS instead of Windows. I imagine they'll probably have that option, but some reps may not know about it.

 

When you first boot the computer, the Windows EULA comes up, if you say no to that, you can get a refund from Microsoft I believe. A few people have done it, and it's an option if Lenovo wont do you a deal off the bat.

 

What Lysander says is right. (But I think the refund would come from Lenovo, not Microsoft.) However, be prepared to go through hoops to get the darn refund. They are not going to make it easy for you.

Anyway, rather than fight with CSRs, I bought the Sager NP2090 (aka Compal IFL90) which can be bought without an OS. My attitude is that if a manufacturer won't make it trivial for me to buy a laptop without an OS or a laptop with some sort of Linux preinstalled (not that I *need* it: I want to shop up on the side of Linux in their stats), then they don't want me as a client.

 

some companys have it in their EULA that you cant ask for a refund even if you dont accept the windows EULA but i dont know if Lenovo does that

 

whats IBM offering anything go to do with it? lenovo sell the T61, not IBM. i guess if u dont accept the EULA you might be able to get a refund but probably depends on country. in any case, just format and put whatever OS you want. If you get an OEM CD with your laptop, then just sell that.

 

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According to the EULA, you're not allowed to transfer (aka sell) a license for an OEM copy of Windows. It's tied to the motherboard of the machine that it's installed on. A retail copy, yes, you can legally transfer, but not OEM. Also, the CD itself is worth next to nothing, the actual license is tied to the product key, not the install disc.

I had to research some details on the Microsoft licenses last fall for a project for work, so I'm fairly confident in my facts, though it has been a while so they may be a little off.

 

As already seen in several Ubuntu laptops (Dell), the fact that they include Linux (and not Windows) does not reduce the price very much (if at all). Perhaps they appear to be cheap but many of them are budget/old machines anyway.

I don't remember where I saw a comparison where it was almost as expensive (perhaps slightly cheaper) to get a machine with Windows, than with Ubuntu Linux.

Of course I see the point of adding to the Linux 'stats'.

 

For the Dell Ubuntu machines, I believe they have a policy of pricing them to be exactly $50 cheaper than a Windows version with the exact same specs. That's what I remember the price differential being whenever I tried spec'ing them out. And I remember that being quoted as the intended price differential when a hiccup in their system caused the Ubuntu machines to come out more expense (it was mentioned when they made the announcement that it was fixed).

Also, the laptop they offer Ubuntu with (I'm not sure about the Desktop, don't keep up with prebuilt desktop news), is one of Dell's new laptop line, not an older model at all compared to the Windows laptops.

In the Latitude line however, the laptops you can get with FreeDOS are back one generation. (D*20's instead of D*30's)

 

Upps, I was misinformed. Sorry.

 

Yes, an OEM license is tied to the motherboard and non-transferable.

Regarding build quality, you can get a machine loaded with FreeDOS from HP with very similar if not better build quality (all magnesium alloy, no plastic exterior, and a better screen). Those would be the 2510p, the 6910p, and I think it's the 8510p. Of course, they come with ATI graphics instead of Nvidia if you're going for the discrete option. Also, some things like the fingerprint readers aren't as well supported yet.

 

Well, unless this has changed very recently the only new laptop model they offer with Ubuntu installed is the 1420n. (I just checked their linux offerings: it has not changed recently.) Not only that but some options available for the 1420 (that's the version they sell with Windows) are not available for the 1420n (the Ubuntu version of the same laptop). In the end that made the 1420n very unappealing to me.