Re: [Fsfe-uk] Quest for a Windows7 refund in the UK - laptop upgraded to GNU+Linux

[Neil Darlow]

Hi Jon,

On Wednesday 04 May 2011 21:42:48 Jon Grant wrote:
> I did not succeed. they refused, unfortunately. Shame on Acer UK of in
> Plymouth.

This seems to be a common attitude, unfortunately. I guess manufacturers 
regard the provision of an OS as essential to operation of the machine and why 
would anyone want to remove or change it?

> Eventually I ran out of time, and then found a friend who wanted the
> Windows7 code anyway. Instead I've decided I will simply buy the laptop
> from a company like Dell which sells ubuntu laptops next time.
> Otherwise, hopefully the EU would legislate eventually to support
> purchasing laptop without OSs.

I am presently looking for a decent, N550-based, netbook having suffered 
problems associated with an Asus Eee 900 (apalling battery life) and an Acer 
Aspire One AO751 (non-existent Poulsbo graphics support in newer 
distributions). While Dell may be GNU/Linux friendly, I find the 
specifications of some of their products considerably inferior to competitors 
on a price-for-price comparison basis.

A bigger issue for me, accepting that I will throw away Windows and install 
GNU/LInux, is that doing so will probably void my warranty. It shouldn't but I 
suspect that attempting to make a warranty claim after switching the OS will 
have its share of problems.

Regards,
Neil Darlow