[nzlug] DSE Ubuntu pre-installed

[Nick Rout]

Your figures seem to based on the $698 DSE price, but there is a $100
cashback by redemption, making the difference even greater.


On Wed, February 6, 2008 5:17 pm, Simon Bridge wrote:
> 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.
>
>
>
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>
>


-- 
Nick Rout