[Haifux] "Windows-Free" laptops in Haifa

[Dan Shimshoni]

Hi,
>Somehow I had a feeling I was going to write another > message in this subject

Strange, but me too!!

>The laptop and the OS are bundled as a package deal, and you know it
>when you buy the laptop.

This is exactly the point: No always. As said here, why should a customer,
who knows that he won't use windows on his laptop, pay for it?
People answering this message gave examples of
buying a "windows-free laptops without windows (let's consider "free
dos" not as an OS).

The average Linux user, who is interested in a ""windows-free laptop"
may go to one, two, three, four or more stores and look for it. Suppose
he will not find such a store in these five stores; then he might say
to himself: this does not worth the time (he might say it also in the
first store) and buy a laptop with windows. Or he can proceed with his efforts
for finding a suitable , windows-free laptop.

And this is the point: if linux people will advertise in this mailing list
shops where they sell "windows-free laptops", then the average linux user will
know where to find it. It would be great if there will be a link in
linmagazine/whatsup for stores which sell "windows-free" laptops. This
is what I meant
by "the struggle is not finished yet"!

>To summarize my view: If there will be a demand for Linux or non-OS
>laptops, don't worry. Someone will supply it.

True; but the community, in my view, should advertise these suppliers,
thus encouraging them. We should seek to reach a situation where
a vendor will be proud and wishing to add in his
advertisement: "we sell "windows-free" PCs" in order to enlarge its
sells and not loose potential Linux users.

>It worked once, basically because Dell's main concern >was to
>finish the story with as little noise as possible (that didn't >work...).

Still, we must raise more noise, I believe, and cause Zvi Devir
achievement, which can be regarded as a
compromise from a legal point of view, to become a binding
precedent.

And  I want to say regarding this: I was happy to hear today that
there will be another lecture of him about his struggle in Tel Aviv
University Linux group.

The struggle **must** go on!

Dans