Because all the manufacturers are scared of the restrictive practices of Microsoft. Please comment below if you can think of any other reason why Dell computer, having a Linux desktop machine on sale won’t cooperate with journos who want to give them some publicity on it.
Courtesy of Slashdot.
Maybe they’re embarrassed. Dell doesn’t discount the price if you have Linux pre-installed. They pocket the $300 or so that MS Windows costs. It’s a blantant rip-off, and faced with that, most buyers take the Windows disks even if they’re going to install Linux.
The only reason I can think of is that some of the power-management features on laptops aren’t so well integrated with Linux. That probably isn’t tru though, it is probably just manufacturers being involved in anti-competitive behaviour…
Well, that looks like fear of Microsoft as well. Very unusual to pass on NONE of a cost saving like that – particularly a cost saving that’s there for everyone to see. Apart from anything else, part of the point of building a Linux desktop machine would be to compete with cloned PCs that you can buy without Windows.
Would would they reduce the price? Most people who install Linux on home PCs do it primarily because of a pathological hatred of Microsoft anyway, so they wouldn’t care if they are paying the same price, as long as Micro$oft isn’t getting anything out of the deal.
They’re not gonna reduce the price because then people could infer how much they’re paying for OEM Windows licences. This is undoubtedly a lot less than smaller manufacturers will be paying, something neither Dell nor Microsoft will be keen to highlight.
Price discrimination is harder if everyone knows what your supply curve looks like.
Speculation in the past was that Microsoft charges a license for every computer sold – no matter what operating system the vendor sells it with. I dont know if they are still doing it after the anti-trust legislation in the US. Dell’s pricing suggests they are.
Yobbo, Most people who install Linux on home PCs do it primarily because of a pathological hatred of Microsoft anyway
Heh. No room for informed decisions in that statement. SSR runs on a fedora box in my basement.
From memory not getting MS Windows OEM on a pc from a competitive melbourne shop saves about $120.
I’m guessing that the shops would include the price of installing in that again I think $30 and perhaps 10% -20% on the MS price to them.
So I’m guessing around $70 cost of each MS to the average pc shop in oz. I’d assume that DELL would be getting it for less than au$30.
Who knows – it might be the MS business model to give it to DELL for free and make the $ out of schools and other assorted suckers. Or figure that the OS is efectively free from MS but make money from the copies of MS Office.