Nick_Pyner:
why they haven't got Windows pre-installed,
I have no problem with them selling PCs with Windows pre-installed. But it should also be possible to buy the exact same PC at a cheaper price without Windows.
...R
Insufficient demand, therefore no supply. All it means is the retailer risks unsold stock on his hands taking up shelf space and incurring labour and logistical costs - both of which have to be paid for by the consumers, irrespective of their ideology. It makes much more sense to leave the Linux freax to either wither or survive as they can, somewhere else.
Nick_Pyner:
leave the Linux freax
That's not nice.
I thought you said earlier you would be tolerant.
...R
You're just getting over-sensitive. For godssake don't raise this matter with the retailers, they are sure to tell you the same thing but likely more forcefully.
Nick_Pyner:
For godssake don't raise this matter with the retailers
I suspect the right place to raise it is with the Competition Authority.
...R
Probably not. This dead horse flogging been going on for years and you can be sure that tack has been sailed long ago. It's time to read reply #23 again. I doubt any Competition Authority can force manufacturers or retailers to cater for niche markets, and the people who do cater for niche market will be mightily pissed off if they did.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding things here, but I would not have thought a linux user would be seen dead driving a Dell - cultural incompatibility springs readily to mind.
I must say I did spare a very slightly sympathetic thought for you and those of your ilk yesterday when I was rather surprised to find that Ada has a bluetooth shield that enables you to programme Arduino remotely. No Linux version, though. I guess that sums it up.