Bonum Certa Men Certa

Vista 7 Refunds: Unbundling Proponents Are on a Roll

Vista 7 sticker
"The hardest thing about replacing Windows 7 with Linux is getting the damn sticker off," Tim from OpenBytes wrote (credit: OpenBytes)



Summary: Portugal is the latest country where an unwanted Vista 7 licence is reported to have been refunded

Microsoft is losing control of its monopoly position and out of misery it is using attack vectors like fake companies (e.g. patent trolls and EU-based complainers) whole sole purpose is to harm Microsoft competitors. Microsoft sees the need for such abusive tactics because it is losing to Google in government, for example, amid a move to Fog Computing (many of the servers powering this are also IBM mainframes running GNU/Linux). Microsoft is not just totally losing control in the back room however. That's just an area where GNU/Linux has enjoyed spectacular (yet immeasurable) growth for well over a decade.



On the desktop too GNU/Linux is gaining. Last night we shared some encouraging statistics from W3schools and given that Chrome OS is coming to shops, there is reason to expect greater adoption of GNU/Linux (albeit with Android-esque lock-down).

A few weeks ago we wrote about a Vista 7 refund given in Brazil and in the UK too it appears to be possible [1, 2] although my co-host Tim says it requires the buyer to go through a long and cumbersome process. Well, following the success story from Brazil (which put Techrights in the news) someone in Portugal has just managed to also get a Vista 7 refund, thus setting a precedence. The person writes:

No dia 8 de Setembro dirigi-me a um espaço comercial da zona da grande Lisboa e adquiri um ASUS 1005PX, após ter feito uma pesquisa e recebido algumas pistas de amigos, porque considerei ser uma máquina "decente"(*) no que toca à relação preço/qualidade. Apercebi-me de imediato da falta de informação dos trabalhadores dessa loja sobre a forma da compra que estava a fazer (substituir o sistema operativo previamente instalado) mas também fiquei satisfeito por ter sido encorajado a fazê-lo por um deles, optando pelo Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, não tendo sequer visto o arranque "à la" W7!


Or in English (automatic translation):

On September 8 I went to a commercial area of the greater Lisbon area and purchased an ASUS 1005PX, after doing a survey and received some leads from friends, because I considered it a machine "decent" (*) when it comes to value for money. I noticed immediately the lack of information from that store employees on how the purchase was doing that (replacing the previously installed operating system) but I was pleased to have been encouraged to do so by one of them opting for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, not having even seen the start-up "à la" W7!


Can any of our readers from Portugal or Brazil offer a better, more accurate translation? The conclusion is translated as follows:

You can buy a machine without Windows in exchange for some patience to face the assembled system. I fought for the recovery of money (a little) that was payable but not the value at the beginning. It was painful to watch the way these matters are dealt with in a time and MANAGING EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER nothing more than Paragon. Over the messages and responses noted the differing views of which are little abonatórios services to ASUS. Later I learned that I can not make a memory expansion to 2GB because I lose the warranty ... Only in 2 years! The audio system does not allow me to connect earphones or external speakers because the friendly manual says that this device input / output is managed by Cabinet Software (MS). Conclusion: I really like the ASUS hardware (got a VW222S monitor, a laptop and now A6JC 1005PX) but I fear I will not buy anything else to this brand after living the violence.


That's why we need to ensure GNU/Linux preinstalls are the standard, hopefully imposed to some degree by EU Commission intervention (to counter Microsoft's market distortion).

Recent Techrights' Posts

Twitter (X) is Dying, Now It's Just Like a Mafia-Type Operation of the Man Who Does Nazi Salutes in Public
a form of extortion
The Price of Exposing Corruption in Poland (and Elsewhere)
It's easier to participate in corruption than to merely do the right thing and oppose it
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part IX: Minimum Wages For You (Experienced Scientist), Alicante/EU Paydays For Me (Unproductive, Corrupt Official)
Does UPRP maladministration extend to the false belief that qualified and experienced scientists can play the role of circus clowns?
"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."
'polite' bullying
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Scrutinises the Man Who Illegally Grants (and Forces Others to Illegally Participate in Granting) Software Patents in Europe
EPO compels examiners to break the law in the name of obeying illegal "rules" or "orders"
The Latest Rumour Says The Next (as Correctly Predicted Before) Wave of Layoffs at Microsoft is 3 Weeks Away, "Larger Than the First Wave"
Step 2
TV Licensing Used to SPAM Your Postbox, Now It Does the Same to E-mail
First they ask for your E-mail address; then they start nagging you via E-mail
 
X11 is Free Software
Whether you agree (e.g. on politics) with the person/s forking it doesn't matter
The More Time Passes, the Better Our Advice on Social Control Media Seems
At the end of the day, any platform you do not control yourself is working for someone else
UK High Court Blasts Brett Wilson LLP for Misusing "GDPR" After Failed Efforts to Censor Critics Using 'Libel' Claims
No wonder this firm is rapidly shrinking
Recent Blunders in Microsoft GitHub (e.g. Slop-Generated Bug Reports or GPL Violations 'as a Service') Taking Their Toll?
Put bluntly, if you still use Microsoft GitHub, then you're slave to Microsoft
American Imperialism and Microsoft Plagiarism
Techrights will therefore do what Microsoft does not want it to do: it'll write even more about Microsoft
When They Have Nothing Left to Help Advance Abusive Litigation for Microsoft People... Other Than Throwing ~500 Pages of Someone Else's Work Into a PDF
Microsoft is having a very tough year
Slopwatch and Yet More Holes in 'Secure Boot' (as Usual!), Promoted Inside Linux by the Man We Are Suing
Today's Slopwatch will be short
Gemini Links 13/06/2025: People You've Left Behind, Life Update and OS Changes
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 12, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 12, 2025
Links 12/06/2025: Portland Homeless Deaths Quadruple, COVID Cases Surge in Asia
Links for the day
EPO's Gareth Lord Asked About "Quality and Productivity" or, Put Another Way, Why the EPO Keeps Granting So Many Invalid/Illegal Patents
letter to Lord
The Toxic Playbook
Either you support Prince Mohammed bin Salman or you're a nazi
It's Possible That BetaNews Got Cracked, But Nobody Talks About It, The Site Contains an Outdated Old Image, No Activity
It's possible that they will never explain what happened to the site and users' accounts
Links 12/06/2025: Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/06/2025: Video Game Diegesis and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Why the Militants Have Lost Every Battle Since 2022 (When Attacking My Wife and I in Various Ways, Even Attacking Our Employers)
This takes patience, sure, but at the end most evildoers face the consequences for their actions
Our Priority is Still Tackling Software Patents and Corruption in Patent Offices
Meanwhile we got compliments on our recent articles, which means that they are effective
Politics Will Impact Software Choices
Will those systems respect users' freedom?
EPO: Neglecting Children to Promote American Monopolies by Shielding Them From European Competition
Yesterday the Central Staff Committee at the EPO spoke about another "reform" at the Office
Slopwatch: Another Day, Another Slopfest, LLM Slop Scrapers Slow Down Our Site
We too have some slop issues; this past day this site and the sister site had to answer about 2.5 million requests (not counting Gemini Protocol) and it's slowing things down for everybody
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Links 11/06/2025: More Vulnerabilities Found in 'Smart' Phones, China Extends Reach in the Pacific
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025