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| Below, there is a list of countries (in alphabetical order) from which we either received interesting news or reports about people trying to get reimbursement. <<BR>> If you want to add a report, please provide date, kind of Microsoft License, company you bought it from and other interesting information. You can also attach your correspondence to your report. <<BR>> |
Below, there is a list of countries (in alphabetical order) from which we either received interesting news or reports about people trying to get reimbursement. If you want to add a report, please provide date, kind of Microsoft License, company you bought it from and other interesting information. You can also attach your correspondence to your report. |
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The "Windows Tax" has artificially increased hardware prices for users of GNU/Linux by a mandatory payment to Microsoft even though no Microsoft software is being used on these machines. The reason: Almost any computer and laptop is bundled with a Microsoft Windows licence. Most vendors will not sell computers without it because apparently their terms with Microsoft do not allow it.
The only way to counteract that "Windows Tax" on PCs and laptops is to ask for a refund, but details on this process are not easy to find, and there is no central repository to allow people gather and share their information with the process. Changing that is the purpose of this page.
General information
Article by Serge Wroclawski about refund strategy (January 2007)
Refund cases are also collected at http://www.racketware.info/index
To prevent trouble with refund, there are some tipps how to buy hardware without Microsoft Tax at the hardware vendor's page.
Fabian Thommen ordered a Dell without XP from the very beginning (no refund necessary). His report can be found here
Serge Wroclawski gives a counterpoint for any excuses the vendor might have
Read the details about your license on Microsoft's software license terms page.
Information for specific countries
Below, there is a list of countries (in alphabetical order) from which we either received interesting news or reports about people trying to get reimbursement. If you want to add a report, please provide date, kind of Microsoft License, company you bought it from and other interesting information. You can also attach your correspondence to your report.
Unsorted Information
Here we collect information and links that currently do not fit anywhere else. Please think twice about alternative locations before posting something here.
Site gathering interesting info (in catalan)