On 07/07/10 08:57, Greg Thomas wrote:
You save on the MS tax
To be honest, now you don't really, not with big name manufacturers anyway.
The tiny tiny amount they actually pay for a OEM licence is recovered by them getting paid to install things like trial versions of Norton, and MS Office. Ebay and Amazon links on the desktop, AOL toolbar etc
The big names can't offer OS free machines due to a clause frequently added to the Microsoft agreement that gives them those low OEM software prices in the first place. If they offer another OS then I am tempted to suggest they bump up their estimated support costs as well.
Not saying you shouldn't buy machines without the Windows tax, do it to make a stand or to avoid that nasty CoA sticker on the side but it is unlikely to make a significant financial difference.