I have called Dell, HP, Toshiba and many others. They all say that they can not sell their computer without a operating system. WHY?

contractual obligation ?

I worked for OEMs which were part of the Windows Partner program and I can assure you that there is no such contractual obligation, at least for the OEMs I worked at. We were totally fine with delivering machines without OS.

Also, at least HP delivers machines "without OS". Well, not really, they put FreeDOS on them.

To make sure that you pay the Micro$oft tax:

http://www.linfo.org/microsoft_tax.html

http://tuxmobil.org/ms_tax.html

http://www.theopensourcerer.com/2009...for-amazon-uk/

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Bundling_of_Microsoft_Windows

I'm sure they made a deal with the devil. The devil will provide them with a discount or kickback on the operating system, if they agree to sell their hardware with only the devils operating system installed, and no other options. It all makes perfect sense, if you are the devil.

I wouldn't either. For 2 reasons.

1. I want to make sure it will actually boot up past the bios before I sell it. *edit* (on second thought, I doubt they actually test things like that.)
2. A large number of people dont understand what it means when there is no OS installed. I've known people who have reformatted their hard drive and wonder why there is no start menu...

Now, some manufacturers will sell computers with linux pre-installed (usually ubuntu). You might save a few dollars that way, but probably not much.

You can be pretty sure that those machines are tested. OEMs use tests that are fully automatic, reducing the costs of tests under the costs of a callback in case they got a batch of defective components (which does happen).

a friend of mine got a pc with ubuntu pre-installed but he had to go thru their small business department. i think they get bulk oem discounts from windows as long as they dont dual-boot with any competitive software.

not sure what OEM's you worked for but the likes of Dell, HP, Compaq, before they were bought out, etc... all are under a non-compete with MS to install MS OS only or they receive less money for support and have to pay more for licenses. its that simple. it all boils down to the all mighty $$$.

Which is quite fun, since I received my laptop from HP with a non-MS open source operating system, FreeDOS. Also, Dell sells systems with Ubuntu preinstalled, so I would regard this as FUD until I actually see such a contract.

There is System 76, but you must use Ubuntu on whole drive. Yes, you can make more partitions,but I like to start out fresh. Plus they are bit pricey. There are ways to test the system without installing a operating system. I can only think because Linux users are small in number, they cater to Microsoft to get their system at a low price. I hope Linux becomes more popular. I know almost nothing about computers and software programs, and I find Linux distributions ease to use. I hope more people discover what I did about Linux.
I what to thank all those who know programing and contributed to developing Linux distributions. You have made computing fun!

You shouldn't worry about it too much. You're paying almost nothing for the Windows license anyway, the few manufacturers who sell systems without it only charge maybe $10 less. Think of it like getting a free copy of Windows with the purchase of any computer, which you can keep or toss as you wish.

Some kind of explanation I guess

http://www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk.../nowindows.htm

I posted a thread about this ages ago (about 2 years now I suppose) either here on on Ubuntu Forums. In Australia Dell would not sell any machines without Windows pre-installed and if you wipe Windows or remove the original hard drive the warranty would be voided.

That makes sense. I was just imagining the qa/qc guys at dell booting up each computer, playing solitaire and watching a video on youtube to make sure it works. They probably have more automated and advanced methods than I would.

Back in 2004, when I was but a young inexperienced computer user making my way into the world of linux, I e-mailed dell (here in the U.S.) and asked them that if I formatted the HD and installed linux, would my warranty still be good. They told me that only the hardware would still be covered. Of course, that was a while ago. Things can change. That was back when I cared about warranties. Nowadays, I usually void warranties long before the equipment has an oppurtunity to break via legitimate means.