Computers in the European Union should be sold without a bundled operating system, according to this submission to the European Commission. It says that the bundling of Microsoft Windows with computers is not in the public interest, and prevents meaningful competition in the operating system market. Sigue leyendo...

Microsoft's entire pricing, contract, and licensing structure is designed with the primary aim of preventing any other operating-system vendor from getting a foothold on the desktop. They achieve this by making the opportunity cost of pre-installing a non-Windows operating system prohibitively high for any vendor who also needs to ship Windows. Sigue leyendo...

After reading Why Apple Will Change TV and the supporting Five Ways Why Apple Will Change TV, you might be left wondering why Microsoft won't simply beat Apple to the punch in delivering the future of the television. Here's the secret answers that expose a series of myths concerning Microsoft’s ability to own new markets, why its monopoly position won't be of any help, and why the company's consumer retail strategies aren't working. It's a story you'll only read here in RoughlyDrafted Magazine, and a story many people don't want you to hear. Sigue leyendo...

"Serge Wroclawski recently contacted Dell to request a refund on the unwanted copy of Windows XP that came pre-installed on his computer. Somewhat surprisingly, Dell complied. Wroclawski admits that the $52.50 refund was more of a victory in principle than anything else, but it was a success nonetheless. Using his tips and techniques readers can try their hand at getting a refund of their own. Wroclawski cautions that you should be prepared for a long haul: the process could take hours." Sigue leyendo...

"Dell today gave freelance programmer and sysadmin Dave Mitchell, of Sheffield, UK, a refund of 47 pounds ($89) for the unused copy of Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 bundled with his new Dell Inspiron 640m laptop, Mitchell says. Dell also refunded the tax, for a total of £55.23 ($105)." Sigue leyendo...

HOW MUCH IS the Windows tax? How much is the Vista tax? Microsoft won't let people talk about it under pain of contract violations, but with a little sleuthing, you can find it out. Sigue leyendo...

Some of the world's biggest computer firms have been accused of imposing unfair contracts on customers who buy their software. The National Consumer Council (NCC) has accused 17 firms, including Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec, of using unfair "end user licence agreements" (EULAs). Sigue leyendo...

The National Consumer Council (NCC) has called for a clampdown on software companies that mislead computer users into signing away legal rights, and today has published new evidence to present to the European Commission (EC). Sigue leyendo...

"Britain's National Consumer Council has completed an investigation into the practice of software End User License Agreements(EULAs) with the conclusion that many consumers are signing away their legal rights and agreeing to unfair terms, which they could never have scrutinized before purchase. The report also acknowledges that even if the EULA were available prior to purchase, it would be unreasonable to expect an average consumer to understand the terms to which they were agreeing. Here are the full report (PDF) and a summary." The NCC recommends that the European Commission bring softwre licenses under the same consumer protections that apply to other products in the EU. Sigue leyendo...

Member of the European Left in the European Parliament Erik Meijer wants the European Commission to study possibilities to ban the sale of PC with a pre-installed operating system. Almost all computer manufacturers deliver PC including a pre-installed OEM-version of the Microsoft Windows operating system. MEP Meijer would prefer to abolish this practice, or else make it easier for consumers to purchase a PC without an operating system. In his questions to the Commission last week, Meijer refers to a recent policy advise from the Globalisation Institute, a European free market think-tank. Sigue leyendo...