this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
854 points (99.5% liked)

Linux

7932 readers
719 users here now

A community for everything relating to the GNU/Linux operating system

Also check out:

Original icon base courtesy of lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] enemenemu@lemm.ee 203 points 2 months ago (6 children)
[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 81 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

Aint no way people pay 211$ for that adware, spyware piece of shit operating system. Thats wild.

[–] LouSlash@sh.itjust.works 61 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Some time ago i checked some polish stores to compare W11 vs Linux / no OS prices and i found out that the difference isn't flat and it's actually about ~10% of product price (so the more expensive the notebook is - the higher the price of W11 is)

[–] LeninOnAPrayer@lemm.ee 29 points 2 months ago

That's absolutely fucked.

[–] LeninOnAPrayer@lemm.ee 39 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

When https://massgrave.dev/ exists it's even worse.

I think this tax on tech illiterate people is getting too high.

Should I start selling USB drives for $5? I don't wanna encourage Windows. But I feel bad for the normies. $211 is insane.

MS literally allows massgrav on GitHub. They have for years. They do not give a fuck.

Paying for windows at this point is a normie tax. And it's gotten too damn high!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] tostiman@sh.itjust.works 25 points 2 months ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] asudox@lemmy.asudox.dev 144 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Let's see who considers the Linux options when they see they can get the same machine for 200 bucks cheaper. I hope other brands start considering doing this too.

[–] Sunshine@lemmy.ca 45 points 2 months ago

Not only that. The software is so much better.

[–] lemmeBe@sh.itjust.works 29 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (17 children)

It's more probable people buying cheaper and then installing Windows afterwards - a lot more probable than starting their tech life from scratch.

[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 20 points 2 months ago (1 children)

starting their tech life from scratch

Lol that's an exaggeration

[–] Droechai@lemm.ee 26 points 2 months ago

I once installed Linux on my machine and my physical keyboard magically transformed into a Dvorak keyboard and the mouse vanished, replaced by a note saying "Terminal is more ergonomic".

Made the setting up ritual way harder than it should have been :(

load more comments (16 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] vorpuni@jlai.lu 80 points 2 months ago (3 children)

They always refused to reimburse the cost of Windows licences before this even if it was illegal in the country you lived in. I'm very surprised.

[–] olympicyes@lemmy.world 20 points 2 months ago

I paid about $100 less to have my workstation shipped with Ubuntu instead of Windows 10 Pro 3 years ago. United States.

[–] ByteJunk@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

The market is shifting...

For at least half a decade I've been seeing computers - both brand-name laptops as well as custom built desktops - sold with FreeDOS as default, and you have to pay extra for Windows.

The most important part is that you wouldn't get a pc with an instant desktop experience that would just let you just boot up and go to Facebook or whatever, so it had little chance of actually harming Microsoft.

This may actually change things!

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 67 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (12 children)

$211?!

Surely that can't be US dollars, that'd be wild. The 24-hour clock also has me thinking this isn't the US.

Looking at the UK site, I'd 100% go for "No Operating System", then install Fedora Workstation anyway.

[–] KoalaUnknown@lemmy.world 28 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It is -$140 on the US store, the -$211 is probably Australian dollars.

load more comments (11 replies)
[–] Creosm@lemmy.world 57 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Oh nice, and down $200? Yes please

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 54 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

And you save money? Oh man, the path of least resistance just changed.

[–] Tenkard@lemmy.ml 37 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't know if it's not scrolled enough but here we have another option which is "no os at all" and you save another 30€

[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 months ago

Shit like this gives me hope for the future

[–] meldrik@lemmy.wtf 34 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This should be standard in stores. If people could save that much, they wouldn’t choose Windows haha

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 30 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Which is why it's never going to happen. Old people like me will remember the first EEE PC from Asus, the original netbook. Netbooks were small cheap laptops that were popular before smartphones were around. It ran Linux and it worked pretty well. Then Microsoft came out with a special version of Windows XP which could run on netbooks and they gave it away for free, just to prevent Linux from getting popular on consumer devices. So they're going to pull something like that again. And Lenovo know this, of course. This is likely just a negotiating tactic to get concessions from MS on licensing fees.

[–] LeninOnAPrayer@lemm.ee 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Think you hit the nail on the head. God I hate how capitalism was applied during the induction of computers and the Internet. It ruined so much trying to force "scarcity" driven supply/demand on a technology that fundamentally removed the supply problem. At least in terms of software.

Software never should have been allowed to be restricted by past limitations only to ensure profits could be made.

But we force it on it. Only for the benefits of companies that serve to prevent innovation more than they produce it.

[–] dryfter@lemm.ee 31 points 2 months ago (3 children)

It looks like (at least here in the U.S.) that this is the only model that allows selection of the OS. I looked at cheaper models of different product lines by them and they all include Windows 11.

I don't understand why companies don't offer more Linux options these days, there's zero excuse

[–] And009@lemmynsfw.com 13 points 2 months ago

Partnership and contracts not to be confused with lack of excuse.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 31 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Would be nice if started with Linux as "included" and then added the 211 for windows.

[–] Landless2029@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Marketing. Theyd never do that.

Could also be a bulk licensing requirement. Ms pulled that shit with DOS.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Enceladus_One@lemm.ee 26 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Awesome, I wish more computer manufacturers did this and actually gave you the ability to choose the OS to ship your PC with, especially with how much cheaper it is to not include Windows with activation. Wow.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 25 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wow. $211 is a steep discount. People are going to buy with Linux just to save money, some will try it (because it is there), and some may like it and stay.

At the very least, people may learn that Windows is no easier to install (or even harder).

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Is this a tariff thing? Like is it suddenly more expensive to license Windows, hence pushing OEMs to offer discount options?

Lenovo is at least partially Chinese.

[–] Samskara@sh.itjust.works 31 points 2 months ago (4 children)

No, Lenovo has offered Ubuntu and at times other distributions preinstalled, for many years. It’s only on a small number of models.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] ColdWater@lemmy.ca 21 points 2 months ago (2 children)

you save 200$ by not having window$ in it?

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Anti_Face_Weapon@lemmy.world 20 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com 16 points 2 months ago

I like this picture.

It's the usual upscaling method, but in this case, there is a way to get the price down from the default....

[–] muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee 16 points 2 months ago (5 children)

The year of the Linux desktop is upon us?

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Can't wait to see how they manage to fill fedora with bloatware too

[–] vrojak@feddit.org 18 points 2 months ago

You'd still be able to just reinstall Linux, and save money in the process. And simply having the option available will probably help get Linux to some users that aren't overly tech savvy

[–] perestroika@lemm.ee 14 points 2 months ago

Shipping it with Linux is the easiest way to convince a consumer that it does run Linux. :)

[–] Voyajer@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago
[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

That's a funny way of sayin' that a Windows Home license costs $211.00.

[–] VeganCheesecake@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'm pretty sure they've been doing that for a long time. The other more business focused OEMs too.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] anothermember@feddit.uk 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I thought they'd done this for years (on certain Thinkpads anyway)? Still I'd rather install my own than trust Lenovo to install it for me.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›