[nzlug] DSE Ubuntu pre-installed

[Simon Bridge]

If someone already posted this, I missed it.
http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/47a9263300a99532273fc0a87f3306bc/Product/View/XC5822
$698.00

It's quite an old notebook, but nicely featured and DSE are pushing the
"Linux Operating System". You'll remember that I discovered that an
ex-lease (XP) laptop about the same age was around $600 - negotiable for
bulk orders.

As vendors offer pre-installed linux, it gives the opportunity to
discover the practical size of the Redmond tax by "comparing apples with
apples".

I haven't been able to find the same laptop with windows in DSE.
However, they do offer ASUS Eee micro-lappies (newer but lower spec)
with Xandros for the same price. Indicates that this is a very good deal
indeed.

But, from another source:

prices range from:
http://www.pricespy.co.nz/c_98.html?d=11728
$725 w Vista HB
http://www.pricespy.co.nz/c_101.html?d=11728
$999 w Vista HB

So punters are taxed about $100.

min: $27.15
LQ: $52
mean: $116.11
median: $92
UQ: $200.88
max: $301

Approx. Box Plot:
x----[-------|---------------------]-------------------x

std dev: $87
IQR: $148

Biases: we don't know how much variation is provided by other factors
like bulk purchases, overhead, and local market. As the laptops are on
the old side, the prices will reflect depreciation over newer models. It
is not clear if the depreciation applies for the OS license.

If we were to propose that Vista came at no cost, from the above data
alone we would have to accept that proposition to 95% confidence.
However, this naive analysis assumes a standard gaussian distribution.
The distribution is highly skewed.

Since I want to test the bottom limits, a better approximation can be
obtained by mirroring the data about the median. (approximating the
distribution with two gaussians)

The lower std dev becomes $21 allowing us to reject the proposition to
the same limits. This result suggests a Redmond Tax in excess of $50.

The entire analysis is simplistic and the sample size small (and self
selecting). The results should not be taken as definitive or final.