[Linux-aus] [Osia-discuss] If you could ask Microsoft a question...

[Daniel Mons]

David Drury wrote:
> 
> You can always be as persistent as Geoffrey Bennett
> http://www.netcraft.com.au/geoffrey/toshiba.html (wow, that's almost a
> decade ago now)

That article is one I've referred to many times - both to explain to
others why I've been attempting to refund my unused copies of Windows,
as well as to hardware suppliers and OEMs as to the fact that someone
else has done so in the past, and not I'm not alone in wanting to do this.

Sadly these days the art of "customer service" is lost on OEMs.  Dell,
Toshiba, Acer and Asus have all bold-faced refused to refund Windows
licenses (or even discount hardware to be sold without them).  I've
heard every excuse under the sun, ranging from "Windows comes free with
the laptop, so uninstalling it wouldn't save you any money" (verbatim
quote from Toshiba Australia) through to a flat out "Sorry sir, we just
don't do that" (Dell Australia, pre Ubuntu Laptops).

Again, this is why I'd like to go straight to the source.  Blaming
hardware OEMs is one thing, but Microsoft has said they will honour
license rejections/refunds in the past.  My question still remains: will
this actually happen?  If so, when?  If not, then why was it promised in
the first place?

-Dan