Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

You can buy a Lenovo (ThinkPad X220T Serie among others) here WITHOUT any OS :)

https://www.lapstore.de/aframe.php?s...ang=en&a=14495

Cheers!

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

I know. I got my T430 from there (without Windows) and bought several Latitudes for friends also from this or similar shops (with Windows, but it was optional).

There are at least half a dozen similar shops in Germany and the quality of the devices and the service is usually excellent.
The problem is, that they have a very limited variety of devices because they resell mainly returned laptops from leasing programs of big companies.
So for the most part you can only buy there what someone else has leased before.
If your requirements match exactly that pattern or if you don't have clear requirements at all, these shops are great places. But if you have clear requirements that can not be met by these few devices (e.g. wicket), then you still have the problem of bundled systems.

Another problem, at least with Lapstore is, that you can only get older laptops without Windows. As a rule of thumb: If a Laptop is pre-configured with Win7 you can usually remove it completely. But if a Laptop is pre-configured with Win8 you can only downgrade it to Win7.


btw:
My post you quoted was about returning Windows licenses. This is a completely different story than buying devices without Windows in the first place.
In my opinion buying a laptop with a Windows license when you know in advance that you don't want it is a mistake. But returning the license would still be better than simply swallowing it. My point is that returning the license alone is (next to) impossible.

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

Is it not better to have Windows though?

Pay for the license and swallow the cost, but at least there will be a stable software to fall back on.
I always believed dual booting was the way to go.

And theres nifty tricks out there, like holding the space bar during boot goes to Windows and w/o goes straight to openSUSE (sorry I meant Linux distro, I swear *looks slyly*)

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

I used dualboot but that was last millenium.
I have had no need for windoze for 15 years or so...

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

Agreed. (even I still like it, e.g. Bootcamp)

cannot agree (not speaking work wise, bound to Win) lots of hardware, child games, etc. come with Windoze only SW. Latest example: TipToi, a (USB) stick for kids which reads / makes noise / asks / plays out of a special book.

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

Well, basically, I haven't booted my old Windows since at least 6 months. So I doubt I'll need any Windoze in the near future :)

But if we really were forced to use it, wouldn't virtualization be a better option?

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

That depends on who you ask.
I rather the dualboot method, because its simple and solves A LOT of bugs and possible problems.

However, virtualization does have its advantages.
One being that you do not have to shut down the PC and reboot to the alternative, so it makes working quicker.

I should mention that I have to use Windows *gulp* Vista at work. And then have to use virtualization in Vista, to use Windows XP. Crazy I know. I mean they have IBM laptops with square (and red) displays. Do you guys even remember BenQ.... yeah there is one of those desktops there. And the IT guy that works here manages our on-site servers for the whole country, he's toting around a Surface Pro 3. He hates Macs, and doesn't understand Linux. And I have to suffer. There's heaps of ways to the computers could be hacked (cause they're older then my underwear) but no-one really cares. I don't think a hacker would care either, cause the whole system is so "bleh".

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

If you intend to run Windows, then I agree with you.
But if you don't intend to run it for whatever reason, then why should you be forced to support that company by obtaining a license from them?
I don't write "buying" because it's usually not a matter of financial cost, because as others have pointed out it's sometimes even cheaper to get a computer with a Windows license.

It's a matter of free choice. MS assumes that every license they "sell" is a computer that's running Windows. That's not true and they know it. Nevertheless they use these statistics to strenghten their market position, because hardly any computer seller will risk to lose his deal to get the MS licenses basically for free.
Imagine you're vegetarian by conviction! Would you accept to have a "free steak" forced on you in your grocery store or otherwise you are not allowed to buy anything there? I don't think so. So you'd just go to another grocery store. But what if it's hard to find a grocery store that doesn't have this policy, and the few that don't have it only have a very limited range of (even vegetarian) products?

I'm not saying everybody should abandon Windows. If you have a use for that OS, by all means, use it!
I just don't want it to be forced on me. And that includes the very first step, my choice of obtaining a license in the first place.

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

Moreover, if the circumstances force you to use Windows and you want to comply with EULA, you can always buy a retail version. In contrast to the OEM version, you can move the retail version among computers. And is much easier to virtualize EULA-wisely. And why should you be forced by a company to buy something that you'll hardly ever use?

Re: Should I buy a tablet?
 

Hmm. There is usually one more option these days; most products today (including the TipToi manager, according to its web page) support both Windows and OS X. Given that OS X is a flavor of Unix (it's a BSD derivative), I find it much more friendly than Windows. And, the quality of Apple desktop hardware today is about as good as it has ever been.

So if you aren't stuck with a PC because of work concerns, it might be worth some consideration. (And Apple PCs make fine Linux boxes too, should you tire of OS X. :) )