From matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu Wed Aug 1 00:28:46 2007 From: matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu (Matthew Flaschen) Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:28:46 -0400 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Question about Vista's EULA In-Reply-To: <20070731133537.GA28872@pratfall> References: <20070731133537.GA28872@pratfall> Message-ID: <46B00BFE.8090505@gatech.edu> Timothy Musson wrote: > Hi, > > Here's Vista's EULA: > > http://download.microsoft.com/documents/useterms/Windows%20Vista_Ultimate_English_36d0fe99-75e4-4875-8153-889cf5105718.pdf > > I think that's the license for retail boxes of Vista. It begins with the > following text: > > "By using the software, you accept these terms. If you do not accept > them, do not use the software. Instead, return it to the retailer for > a refund or credit. If you cannot obtain a refund there, contact > Microsoft or the Microsoft affiliate serving your country for > information about Microsoft's refund policies. > See www.microsoft.com/worldwide." > > Does anyone know if OEM versions (i.e., the Vista that comes > pre-installed on laptops) include that piece of text? Yes. See http://www.windowsrefund.org/ . I haven't tried yet, but apparently if you are very determined, you can get a refund for the Windows license fee without returning the whole machine. Matt Flaschen From trmusson at ihug.co.nz Thu Aug 2 09:57:05 2007 From: trmusson at ihug.co.nz (Timothy Musson) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 01:57:05 +1200 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Question about Vista's EULA In-Reply-To: <3922422b0707310840wb200fcayd248b0e37d73cc33@mail.gmail.com> References: <20070731133537.GA28872@pratfall> <1185896131.3202.13.camel@nirvana.limasoftware.net> <3922422b0707310840wb200fcayd248b0e37d73cc33@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20070802135705.GG11926@pratfall> Ringo Kamens, 2007-07-31 11:40:13: > I have heard about people sucessfully getting a refund for their > windows software by going back to the retailer. I believe this is more > likely to work at small-time computer shops as opposed to > mega-conglomerates like wal-mart or best buy. It's worth a try. If > they refuse to take back the software or computer (as in they refuse > to take back anything) then you can launch a fraud claim against them > in small claims court. 99% of the time they give you what you want and > you don't really even need a lawyer for it. Check out NOLOs books on > small claims court and lawsuits. > Comrade Ringo Kamens Thanks Ringo, but I'm not comfortable hassling a small business about something that's essentially a Microsoft problem. Hassling a bigger company (e.g. Dell or IBM/Lenovo) is less likely to hurt anyone, and more likely to matter in the long run, I think. Best regards, Tim -- Timothy Musson FSF Associate Member #1262 http://www.russsoc.org.nz/ http://www.fsf.org/ From greenarrow1 at opensuse.us Fri Aug 3 22:49:32 2007 From: greenarrow1 at opensuse.us (member greenarrow1) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 19:49:32 -0700 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Question about Vista's EULA In-Reply-To: <20070802135705.GG11926@pratfall> References: <20070731133537.GA28872@pratfall> <1185896131.3202.13.camel@nirvana.limasoftware.net> <3922422b0707310840wb200fcayd248b0e37d73cc33@mail.gmail.com> <20070802135705.GG11926@pratfall> Message-ID: <26d2590708031949s6cfdbccbp7f2b0fd46d031a5@mail.gmail.com> On 8/2/07, Timothy Musson wrote: > Ringo Kamens, 2007-07-31 11:40:13: > > I have heard about people sucessfully getting a refund for their > > windows software by going back to the retailer. I believe this is more > > likely to work at small-time computer shops as opposed to > > mega-conglomerates like wal-mart or best buy. It's worth a try. If > > they refuse to take back the software or computer (as in they refuse > > to take back anything) then you can launch a fraud claim against them > > in small claims court. 99% of the time they give you what you want and > > you don't really even need a lawyer for it. Check out NOLOs books on > > small claims court and lawsuits. > > Comrade Ringo Kamens > > Thanks Ringo, but I'm not comfortable hassling a small business about > something that's essentially a Microsoft problem. Hassling a bigger > company (e.g. Dell or IBM/Lenovo) is less likely to hurt anyone, and > more likely to matter in the long run, I think. > > Best regards, > > Tim > -- > Timothy Musson FSF Associate Member #1262 > http://www.russsoc.org.nz/ http://www.fsf.org/ > > _______________________________________________ > Advocate mailing list > Advocate at badvista.org > http://badvista.fsf.org/mailman/listinfo/advocate What about ordering a laptop from the maker and request that a certain Linux OS be installed. If they cannot do that the problem is most hardware and some bios require a system be on the hard drive to install basic firmware or processor functions. In that case they can supply you with the motherboard disk for needed programs. I do not really like Dell but they do special orders. I make computers so there should be no reason whatsoever why they cannot let you purchase a laptop without an operating system as long as they supply you with a motherboard/processor/connection disk. George greenarrow1 InNetInvestigations-Forensic SuSe 10.2/TriStar/Apache GoBoLinux From ninuxpdb at gmail.com Mon Aug 6 15:07:55 2007 From: ninuxpdb at gmail.com (paolo del bene) Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 21:07:55 +0200 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] refund windows In-Reply-To: <7dc12d290708061158y6314a761n12545e1b4d42e235@mail.gmail.com> References: <7dc12d290708061158y6314a761n12545e1b4d42e235@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <7dc12d290708061207xa527a59j7663a683ed487574@mail.gmail.com> 2007/8/6, paolo del bene : > > look the homepages : http://freego.it/news/show/1503 http://liste.pordenone.linux.it/lpb-linux/msg06029.html > > http://oltrelinux.com/forums/read.php?f=622&i=1&t=1 > http://forum.zeusnews.com/viewtopic.php?p=131642 > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://badvista.fsf.org/pipermail/advocate/attachments/20070806/c0fe31f8/attachment.htm From ninuxpdb at gmail.com Sat Aug 11 13:55:58 2007 From: ninuxpdb at gmail.com (paolo del bene) Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:55:58 +0200 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] refund windows (paolo del bene) Message-ID: <7dc12d290708111055o14bba3adp1b8577f0fde626ab@mail.gmail.com> > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: refund windows (paolo del bene) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 21:07:55 +0200 > From: "paolo del bene" > Subject: Re: [BadVista Advocate] refund windows > To: advocate at badvista.org > Message-ID: > <7dc12d290708061207xa527a59j7663a683ed487574 at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > 2007/8/6, paolo del bene : > > > > look the homepages : http://freego.it/news/show/1503 > http://liste.pordenone.linux.it/lpb-linux/msg06029.html > > > > http://oltrelinux.com/forums/read.php?f=622&i=1&t=1 > > http://forum.zeusnews.com/viewtopic.php?p=131642 > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://badvista.fsf.org/pipermail/advocate/attachments/20070806/c0fe31f8/attachment.html > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Advocate mailing list > Advocate at badvista.org > http://badvista.fsf.org/mailman/listinfo/advocate > > > End of Advocate Digest, Vol 5, Issue 4 > ************************************** > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://badvista.fsf.org/pipermail/advocate/attachments/20070811/954ecd5c/attachment.html From johns at fsf.org Wed Aug 22 13:33:23 2007 From: johns at fsf.org (John Sullivan) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:33:23 -0400 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Javascript bookmarklet for suggesting stories? Message-ID: <87zm0j79uk.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> One thing I'd really like to do is make it easier for people to suggest stories that would be good for the Vista NewsWatch section of the site. What do people think about the idea of having a Javascript bookmarklet that people could install? The vague idea is that when a user clicks on it while viewing a new story, it would send the link to us. This could be done either through the user's local mail setup, or maybe through the contact form on badvista.org.. Does anyone reading have the chops to put this together? Or are there any other ideas for how we can make it easier for people to suggest stories? -- John Sullivan Campaigns Manager | Phone: (617)542-5942 x23 | http://badvista.org 51 Franklin Street, 5th Fl. | Fax: (617)542-2652 | http://www.gnu.org Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA | GPG: AE8600B6 | http://www.fsf.org "Microsoft put all those functionality-crippling features into Vista because it wants to own the entertainment industry. This isn't how Microsoft spins it, of course. It maintains that it has no choice...It's all complete nonsense." --Bruce Schneier, "DRM in Windows Vista" From matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu Wed Aug 22 16:37:01 2007 From: matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu (Matthew Flaschen) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:37:01 -0400 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Javascript bookmarklet for suggesting stories? In-Reply-To: <87zm0j79uk.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> References: <87zm0j79uk.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> Message-ID: <46CC9E6D.8070905@gatech.edu> John Sullivan wrote: > One thing I'd really like to do is make it easier for people to suggest stories > that would be good for the Vista NewsWatch section of the site. > > What do people think about the idea of having a Javascript bookmarklet that > people could install? The vague idea is that when a user clicks on it while > viewing a new story, it would send the link to us. This could be done either > through the user's local mail setup, or maybe through the contact form on > badvista.org. I think I could set this up. Matt Flaschen From johns at fsf.org Wed Aug 29 10:55:52 2007 From: johns at fsf.org (John Sullivan) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 10:55:52 -0400 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Javascript bookmarklet for suggesting stories? References: <87zm0j79uk.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> <46CC9E6D.8070905@gatech.edu> Message-ID: <87absaqtjb.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> Matthew Flaschen writes: > John Sullivan wrote: >> One thing I'd really like to do is make it easier for people to suggest stories >> that would be good for the Vista NewsWatch section of the site. >> >> What do people think about the idea of having a Javascript bookmarklet that >> people could install? The vague idea is that when a user clicks on it while >> viewing a new story, it would send the link to us. This could be done either >> through the user's local mail setup, or maybe through the contact form on >> badvista.org. > > I think I could set this up. That'd be awesome, any luck? -- John Sullivan Campaigns Manager | Phone: (617)542-5942 x23 | http://badvista.org 51 Franklin Street, 5th Fl. | Fax: (617)542-2652 | http://www.gnu.org Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA | GPG: AE8600B6 | http://www.fsf.org From johns at fsf.org Wed Aug 29 14:58:43 2007 From: johns at fsf.org (John Sullivan) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:58:43 -0400 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Digg: Environmental and social justice groups unite in support of free software Message-ID: <878x7umal8.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> http://digg.com/tech_news/Environmental_and_social_justice_groups_unite_in_support_of_free_software Environmental and social justice groups unite in support of free software Join the Green Party, New Internationalist, Friends of the Earth International, People and Planet, and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in signing this statement calling on social activists and progressive organizations to join with them in rejecting Microsoft's Vista and to encourage instead adoption of free software. Sign in support now! -- John Sullivan Campaigns Manager | Phone: (617)542-5942 x23 | http://badvista.org 51 Franklin Street, 5th Fl. | Fax: (617)542-2652 | http://www.gnu.org Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA | GPG: AE8600B6 | http://www.fsf.org "Microsoft put all those functionality-crippling features into Vista because it wants to own the entertainment industry. This isn't how Microsoft spins it, of course. It maintains that it has no choice...It's all complete nonsense." --Bruce Schneier, "DRM in Windows Vista" From matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu Wed Aug 29 20:48:59 2007 From: matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu (Matthew Flaschen) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:48:59 -0400 Subject: [BadVista Advocate] Javascript bookmarklet for suggesting stories? In-Reply-To: <87absaqtjb.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> References: <87zm0j79uk.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> <46CC9E6D.8070905@gatech.edu> <87absaqtjb.fsf@spider.office.fsf.org> Message-ID: <46D613FB.2060801@gatech.edu> John Sullivan wrote: > Matthew Flaschen writes: > >> John Sullivan wrote: >>> One thing I'd really like to do is make it easier for people to suggest stories >>> that would be good for the Vista NewsWatch section of the site. >>> >>> What do people think about the idea of having a Javascript bookmarklet that >>> people could install? The vague idea is that when a user clicks on it while >>> viewing a new story, it would send the link to us. This could be done either >>> through the user's local mail setup, or maybe through the contact form on >>> badvista.org. >> I think I could set this up. > > That'd be awesome, any luck? Yeah, I wrote a bookmarklet to use the contact form. javascript:var fullName=""; var emailAddress=""; var subject=document.title; var url = escape(window.location.href); var message="Check out \"" + subject + "\" (" + url + ")"; window.open("http://badvista.fsf.org/contact-info?sender_fullname=" + fullName + "&sender_from_address=" + emailAddress + "&subject=" + subject + "&message=" + message, "_blank"); void(0); All you have to do is create a bookmark with that URL, then click it when you want to use it. By default, it will setup the contact form with: blank name and email title of the page for subject "Check out "title" (URL)" in the message. These can be easily tweaked. For some reason, the script won't work for certain weird URLs. Matt Flaschen