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With the new Windows Eee PC approaching, Laptop Magazine recently reported that the price of the Windows Eee PC 4G is $400. The price of the current Eee PC 4G is also $400 (Amazon
The first possibility is simply that there is going to be a price drop. That would be just fine and good. Yay. Whatever.
The second possibility, however, (and please note, this is only a possibility, not a fact) is that either Asus is absorbing the cost of Windows or that Microsoft is giving XP to Asus for free. If either one of these is happening, it is not OK with me.
For Asus’s part, it is not their business to determine what operating systems cost. By making Windows free, they give Microsoft an unfair advantage that they should not be given. If Windows is the one giving XP away for free, that is just as bad as bribing bloggers with expensive laptops.
Keep in mind that the explanation could just be a price drop, which would mean nothing bad is going on, but the EU should keep an eye on this.
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Umm:
a – Yes, but I highly doubt it costs as much as Windows
b – It costs money to support Windows, too
c – Personally, I believe consumers should be educated, rather than kept in the dark, but I see your point.
d – Um…. Yes… Is that fair?
e – Is that fair that Linux’s cheapness should pay for Windows’s expensiveness?
OK – so as mentioned in comments above you were short on options such as
a) It costs money to deliver Linux… customizations or fine tuning perhaps?
b) It costs money to support Linux… the basis for many commercial Linux ventures?
c) That they might have felt one price was more straight forward for users?
d) The Linux machines provided a tidy profit
e) The Cost of Windows is subsidized by the Linux machines
Really – much the same as the Dell site, the basic assumption that Linux should be free on Vendors machines makes Linux users look like cheap whiners.
One wonders whether you have to accept the Windows EULA when first booting the Windows variant?
If you reject it, you are (in theory) entitled for a refund for the cost of the software. I wonder what ASUS would say in that situation?
I would love to see some Xandros EEE versus XP EEE PC benchmarks – in these useful life tasks, like, bootup time, battery life, firefox/openoffice vs explorer/office startup times… cause these are what really matters.
It doesn’t matter whether Asus takes the cost or Microsoft gives their bullshit away for free. They are partners, they probably worked it out together.
It’s the same story as with any other laptop: While Windows OEM costs about 50EUR/USD they (hardware industry and Microsoft) have always made sure there’s no visible costs for the Windows license for the customer? Take the cheapest notebook any major brand offers. It will include Windows. You won’t see any cheaper offer without an OS. (This is not true for specialized Linux vendors or well-educated customer who know their options and legal tricks how to return a Windows license. But from Average Joe’s point of view, the most basic Windows version always appears free.)
Remember: There’s a cost involved with Xandros Linux, too. It’s a customized Linux from a comercial vendor.
But I hate the Windows EEEpcs as much as you do. It spoils the idea.