[nzlug] 'MS Tax' versus Commerce Commission

[Simon]

On Mon, 2007-07-02 at 17:42 +1200, David McNab wrote:
> On Mon, 2007-07-02 at 17:19 +1200, Michael Field wrote:
> > When was the last time you tried to buy:
> >  - A PC without a power lead? (aka The Cable Tax)
> >  - A bicycle without any handlebars?  (aka The Euston Tube Tax)
> >  - A car without any wheels? (aka the crappy alloy tax)
> >  - A MP3 player without ear-buds? (aka The ear-bud Tax)
> 
> That's a tad facetious - but worse, it implies that a 'computer' by
> definition includes Windows.
> 
> David

Indeed... and taking those examples:
1. It is possible to buy a PC without a power lead (sans PSU though.)
2. It is possible to buy a bicycle without handlebars... or wheels etc.
3. A car without wheels... how about just the chassis?
4. OK... you got me on the media player.

In the first three it is possible to ask a manufacturer to supply, with
reasonable expectation that they will. In the fourth, the earbuds in a
media-player box are usually pretty nasty: the user is expected to
change them for their own.

The car analogy is especially illustrative...

However, we don't go to a Ford dealer and expect to be able to buy a
Falcon chassis. We go to a Ford Parts dealer... probably a wholesaler.
Sometimes you can get away with going to the factory. But what is the
equivalent for a laptop?

It is more usual to customise a retail model. If I change out the wheels
of my Falcon I do not expect a discount from the manufacturer or dealer
for the wheels I will never use. (Though I do expect to be able to sell
them to someone else.) OTOH: I have probably used the wheels to take the
car off the lot. (And there are people who will fit wheels you want
before you drive it off, without charging you for the old ones.)

So we see a wide range of possible approaches to a market.

With computers - if your eula states that you can return the software if
you are unhappy with it... it seems reasonable to do so.

You are in murky water if you purchase the software knowing that you
will be unhappy with it... but I suspect a lot will depend on the actual
interaction.

If you told the salesbeing that you didn't like windows but that worthy
asserted that you would like this one... then fair is fair: they were
warned.

You could also try returning another component for a refund: sorry,
don't like the DVD drive after all... may I have a refund? See what they
do. Will they insist you return the entire box?

However... if the licence states you must return the entire hardware...
and (this is what we're talking about right?) you know this in advance:
then, is it fair to expect a refund?

If you tell the salesman that you don't intend to use or install windows
at all, it can get interesting. For eg. I have experienced a seller
voiding the HW guarantee (we are not prepared to guarantee the hardware
unless it is running the OS supplied).