| WIKI | FAQ | Tech FAQ | |
 http://csua.com/feed/ | |
| ||||||
| 5/25 |
| 1999/2/12-13 [Computer/HW/CPU] UID:15401 Activity:high |
2/11 Monday is Windows Refund Day in Foster City, for non-Windows users
who received Windows bundled with a computer and have _never_ used
it. (Not even once.) You must also have your original media,
manuals, and certificates of authenticity. Or come along to watch.
http://linuxmafia.com/refund
http://zork.net/refund -- schoen
\_ tuesday is firestone refund day. For everyone who ripped the
tires off their honda accord before they drove it off the lot,
we're going to go to a rubber tree plantation in cambodia to ask
for a refund.
\_ If your tires came with a Microsoft Windows EULA preventing
you from decompiling, disassembling, or reverse engineering
them, selling them separately from the car they came with, or
switching one of the tires to another car -- and allowing
your license to use the tires with that car to be terminated
by the tire manufacturer in the event of breach by you of this
license (in which case you must destroy the tires), and it
happened to say in this "tire license" that you could return
the tires for a refund if you disagreed, then, sure, why not
return the tires if you've already got better ones? -- schoen
\_ would you go to firestone, who made the product, or to the
car dealership where you paid for it?
\_ A good question. People have been asked to call their
OEMs in advance. With only two exceptions in the US,
the OEMs have disavowed all knowledge of the EULA. :-)
Thus, we will ask Microsoft what's up. -- schoen
\_ So what do you want to bet that the microsoft offices will be
observing Presidents day this year, and be closed? -ERic
\_ Good thinking, but they won't: http://linuxmafia.com/refund/faq
\_ How likely is it that you've never used it at least once if the PC
was initially installed to automatically boot into Windoze? Unless
you already knew a long time ago that there's going to be a refund
day.
\_ Because being a die hard linux geek, you inserted your linux
boot floppy the first time your powered it. After all what
use would a true linux geek have for window, pre installed or
not? If you booted windows, you're a loser and don't deserve
a refund. In fact, it wouldn't be a legal request.
\_ Also, apparently some of the newer bundled systems ask you to
click "I Accept" before they allow you to finish booting
Windows. So you can say "I Do Not Accept" and it reboots or
some such thing. We'll see how many people bothered to do
this... -- schoen
\_ Apparently, some companies are forgoing Windows all
together. People who buy low-end SGI's and high-end HP's
were complaining about being forced to use Windows so
now both manufacturers are offering RedHat prebundled.
\_ You're funny! - Intel employee
It makes sense with the multiproc SGI's since Windows
can't scale worth a damn.
\_ I heard a rumor that Compaq let you choose? Sounds
fishy. -John
\_ Because of their close ties with the Intel Merced
development, HP is also apparently working hard to
get Merced support for Linux which should be pretty
interesting. Anybody know the ship date of Merced?
\_ Merced is a piece of shit. By Intel's own accounts
it will "maybe" be faster than the 32 bit offerings
they have during it's lifetime. They're just releasing
it so people will start writing IA64 code until
McKinley (the next next chip) comes out.
\_ Merced does not suck, regardless of the speed of the
first implementation. RISC is reaching its limits,
just like CISC before it. -muchandr
\_ Uh, if CISC is dead and RISC is too where do you
prupose we go now?
\_ multithreading! -nick
\_ Things always take longer than you expect them to, even
if you take into account Hofstadter's Law
-- Hofstadter's Law
\_ Other people are working on Merced, too. Linus
talked about Intel <--> kernel developer contacts
at the Taos "Future of Linux" panel, and said he
expected Merced to be supported upon its release.
\_ Is the Merced backwards compatible with the i32
chips? It would be nice if Intel did what
Motorolla did with the PowerPC chip and ditch
the whole backwards compatibility idea. Intel
chips are too bloated and complicated. Any
architect who thinks that variable length CISC
instructions will last forever needs to get a new
job.
\_ PowerPC was backwards compatible with
the IBM POWER RISC instruction set.
Motorola didn't design PowerPC alone.
\_ Yes, but that unit is almost a separate CPU on
the same die. I think Intel will be able to throw
it away once there is enough Merced soft around,
-muchandr
\_ No one is going to buy Merced, esp. because
it won't be available at resonable prices.
In any case UltraSparc III will be well
established by then, offering greater
performance. And TRUE Linux geeks know that
even UltraSparc pales in comparision to
the ultimate processor that Linus is working
on at TransMeta.
\_ didn't pay much attention in the 90s, eh?
Alpha had greatest performance but everybody
bought intel anyway. there are many factors
besides technical merit or value in the
microprocessor market. SGI is expected to
use Merced in the followup to the Origin
series of supercomputers.
\_ Alphas are evil now that they've sold out
to Compaq, Microsoft's puppet corporation.
\_ Perhaps Compaq is good now that it's
making Alphas, instead? |
| 5/25 |
|
| linuxmafia.com/refund -> linuxmafia.com/refund/ Everyone should assemble at the nearest of our four "Posse" assembly points, from which we will carpool/caravan at 10 AM. Posse organizers and parade marshals will do briefings and check-ins prior to the carpool, and you won't want to miss the t-shirts. Please include if you can offer or are in need of a ride! Please note that the BART parking lot is for BART patrons. We are encouraging everyone to stick together and present a calm and polite, but firm, request for our refund. If you are seeking a refund, we expect you to provide some documentation for the fact that you are not using the Microsoft products you are returning. Bring your computer if you can schlep it, but if you choose not to bring the computer, please bring a copy of your non-Microsoft OS, a printout of your partition table, name tag or raffle ticket from a free OS event, or something else to substantiate that you aren't just a random copyright violator looking for a handout. If you try to use this event as an excuse to actually use Microsoft products in violation of applicable licenses, we will 22 help Microsoft hunt you down and prosecute you to the full extent of the law. If you are not seeking a refund, and simply want to come along for the spectacle, that's fine too. We request that you not get in the way of people getting their refunds, and that you act politely to Microsoft employees and to the media. We will make further information on handling the media available here, since we want to present our OSs of choice in the best possible light without embarassing Microsoft, since they are only giving us the refunds we want. We have received a lot of positive interest in this event, so we are recruiting "parade marshals" to help keep everyone together and peaceful. This will be an orderly event and we don't want anyone to get hurt. The Open Directory Project's 27 Windows Refund category. The 28 Windows Refund Center site that started the campaign, and is an excellent central information resource. Visit the 29 refund-news site: sign up for the Windows Refund Newsletter. The 34 Bay Area FreeBSD community plans to turn out in force. Japanese PC users will be coordinated through Hiroyuki Nishimura's 40 Windows Refund Day site, which in its first two days attracted 2000 visitors. The 43 New Zealand Refund Site is being run by Dr Anand Venkataraman. |
| zork.net/refund -> zork.net/refund/ Subscribe refund-news or The Microsoft Windows Refund Newsletter Possible process for obtaining a refund 8 Issue Four of The Microsoft Windows Refund effort newsletter is out! To receive updates and future editions by email, please fill out the following form: e-mail address: subscribe There is also a Japanese version available now! The Japanese edition will be sent out shortly after the English edition becomes available (it takes some time to translate from the English). |
| linuxmafia.com/refund/faq -> linuxmafia.com/refund/faq/ You need to be at one of our four assembly points no later than 10 AM. Q: Is it OK if I just show up at the Microsoft office in Foster City? Q: The EULA says users should "promptly contact Manufacturer for instructions on return". Recent purchasers are particularly welcome, since it is more self-evidently true that they never wanted the bundled Microsoft product, never used it, and do not agree to the EULA. A: One Microsoft spokesperson has dangled the threat of a counter-demonstration, which we can expect would be heavily subsidized by Microsoft, like the free sushi at Windows NT user group meetings in the Bay Area. However, we expect that the media would react unfavorably to such an event, so we don't think it will happen. Q: Monday, February 15th (Windows Refund Day) is Presidents Day. Microsoft's Foster City office has confirmed that it will be open. Dern 10 wrote in LinuxWorld, that Windows Refund Day will be the Ides of February? One correct Roman name for Windows Refund Day would be "XV ante Kalendas Martius", or (in full) " dies quindecem ante diem Kalendas Martius". Q: Aren't you just taking advantage of a legal loophole? We're doing exactly what the EULA says: Those who don't want the bundled product, haven't used it, and don't accept its license terms were told explicitly by Microsoft in the EULA that Microsoft is "unwilling to license the software product" to them, and to return it for a refund. Q: I don't like the mouse I got with my PC, either, yet it's part of the packaged deal, and I have to live with it. A: It's different because Microsoft specifically provided for a refund, for anyone who doesn't accept the EULA. All of our participants are exactly that -- people who bought their computers to use exclusively for open-source operating systems that they prefer. Q: Are you trying to bring back the bad old days, when computers were sold without a preconfigured operating system? We're simply exercising our right under the EULA to return what is for us an unused, unwanted preload product, for refund. A: We're not attacking Microsoft at all, and acknowledge that many like its operating systems. We, however, prefer and use open-source OSes, and are therefore returning these unused Microsoft products, as provided by the EULA. Perhaps, if other people want "our" copies (which we are returning in pristine, unused condition), Microsoft can then sell them to people who actually want them and consent to the EULA. Q: If you didn't want the bundled OS, why did you buy the bundle? A: For one thing, in some cases (such as PC laptop computers), essentially no alternatives exist without a bundled Microsoft OS. For another, the refund offer is an official, inherent part of the bundle: That provision is written right into the license. Q: Will you be returning other Microsoft bundled software that features the same sort of EULA (for example, Office 97), or just Windows? You are welcome to join us to return any unwanted, unused bundled Microsoft product whose license contains the following or similar language: If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, Manufacturer and Microsoft Licensing, Inc. In such event, you may not use or copy the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, and you should promptly contact Manufacturer for instructions on return of the unused product for a refund. VA Research is paying for and distributing these shirts, as thank-you gifts for attending. |