LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Alan Kennington <akenning@dog.topology.org>
  To  : Nick <nick@sux.com>
  Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 23:59:55 +101800

Re: Buying a workstation

On this topic, a couple of months ago,
I bought a laptop, and was handed over a copy of
windows 95, which I said I didn't need.
It was also installed on this second-hand laptop
already.
They guy told me he had to give me an OS, 
because otherwise he would get a $40,000 fine or
something.
He said I could come in and spend 3 hours installing
linux in his shop if I liked.
But he said that there was a presumption that
anyone who did not have a copy of an MS OS
certificate was going to use a pirate copy of
an MS OS. 

I.e. there is a presumption of intent to steal, if you
don't buy an MS OS certificate.
So now I have a daggy old $50 wind95 OS
in an unopened packet at home, and MS has $50.

Despite Geoffrey's world-famous pioneering
tour de force (which filled up space
in newspapers which politicians would die for),
the practice is still that
computer vendors, even second-hand,
are intimidated by a kind of
mafia-like operation into hadning over money
for stuff that people don't want.

It's a bit like having to hand over money for
a crate of Coke every time you ahve a party,
because you need to have some
fizzy drink in the summer, and Coke is the dominant
vendor, and if you don't buy any, then
it is presumed that you will steal some Coke from
somewhere for your party.

Cheers,
Alan Kennington.

PS.  The parties referred to in this
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Any resemblance to any person or compnay is entierely
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