OT: Windows is too expensive

geoschmo · #1 March 5th, 2007, 01:19 AM

Just a min-rant. Windows is too expensive. My nieces computer blew up last week and I'm trying to be a nice guy and help her out by putting another computer together for her. Nothing fancy, she just mainly uses it to web surf and chat with her friends. But it costs so much to get a copy of windows anymore you can't even afford to build a PC yourself. Even an upgrade version is 100 bucks and for that you've got to have a hardrive with an OS on it already. A full version of XP Home is almost 200 bucks. It's getting to where the OS is most of the cost of a computer.

Suicide Junkie · #2 March 5th, 2007, 01:22 AM

The computer blew up?
Well, just keep using your existing license on the new PC.

geoschmo · #3 March 5th, 2007, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Suicide Junkie said:
The computer blew up?
Well, just keep using your existing license on the new PC.

Yah, that would work if she had a disk or a license number. It was a hand me down computer from my brother in law. I'm not sure where the original OS came from. It might have been an OEM way back. Either way we don't have anything I could use as documentation to get another license. I don't think if I call Microsoft up and explain the situation they would give me another license do you?

Fyron · #4 March 5th, 2007, 01:27 AM

If all she uses it for is web surfing and chat, you could consider Ubuntu...

geoschmo · #5 March 5th, 2007, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Imperator Fyron said:
If all she uses it for is web surfing and chat, you could consider Ubuntu...

I was hesitant to try something in the Linux universe since she's just a teen and isn't really a computer geek like her uncles. But looking at their website it actually looks pretty user-friendly. I might give it a shot and see if she likes it.

Atrocities · #6 March 5th, 2007, 01:42 AM

I would see what your local PC shop has in the way of affordable OS. I have an old copy of 95 someplace that could give you.

Will · #7 March 5th, 2007, 02:35 AM

If it is just mainly for websurfing and chatting, then I would say definitely go with Ubuntu. Non-technical users can get by just fine with it, never need to touch the command line or anything, and Firefox and gAIM work just as well as (some would even dare say better than) IE and MSN/Y!IM/AIM/etc. The Ubuntu people have done some really good work on bringing the distro together and making it user-friendly.

Baron Grazic · #8 March 5th, 2007, 01:27 AM

Your complaining about the price of XP.
I hope you don't look at the Vista prices. ;-)

AgentZero · #9 March 5th, 2007, 03:25 AM

Windoze XP Home Edition for under $100 as long as you keep your receipts for mother board, hard drive, RAM and a CPU. But as it's been said already, if all she does is light internet use Ubuntu's probably the way to go, especially if she's got a savvy uncle to set the whole thing up for her.
I would say though, that it'd probably be a good idea to have her make a list of the applications she can't live without in case there's anything on there without a Linux equivalent.

Ed Kolis · #10 March 5th, 2007, 11:07 AM

You could always call them up and say "Hey you, your exorbitant prices just cost you another customer, I'm switching to Ubuntu" and go on and on about the joys of free software

It won't get you a free copy of Windows, but it will make you feel good, and maybe if enough people get fed up with Microsoft then they will change their business practices -
ya know, kinda like voting for a third-party candidate, how it won't get you anything in the short run but in the long run it tells the major parties where to align themselves to garner more votes?