You must log in or register to comment.
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.
I paid about $100 less to have my workstation shipped with Ubuntu instead of Windows 10 Pro 3 years ago. United States.
This may help them absorb the tarrifs by advertising it at current rates while raising the price by 200 bucks.
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!
And you save money? Oh man, the path of least resistance just changes.
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€
Shit like this gives me hope for the future
$200???
$200 less (you save money not buying windows)
Which makes the win11 pro license $297? That’s obscene.
Windows licenses ain’t cheap. Never have been.
I see 11 Pro straight from MS for $200, why the fuck are they charging almost $300 for it? lmao
edit- someone pointed out it’s CAD
the same reason they charge 30 for Linux
Would be nice if started with Linux as “included” and then added the 211 for windows.
Marketing. Theyd never do that.
Could also be a bulk licensing requirement. Ms pulled that shit with DOS.
It’s weird how the price drops when something "included’ gets removed. Am I misunderstanding that word?
Thought DOS was free
For sure not. It built Microsoft.
honestly I prefer being able to subtract from the base price and have it actually be an improvement too
If they did that sales would drop because people would switch to another manufacturer that gave them Windows for “Free”.
Oh nice, and down $200? Yes please
They’d have to discount at least twice that amount for me to get the Ubuntu install, though.
*use
Both, really.
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.
Yes they have. They are a bit inconsistent on what’s available, sometimes no linux version at all. The x1 gen 13 doesn’t offer it last I checked.
They will pay you to take it!
Where?
Woah! Never seen this in France, ever. You can even get it os-free!
Wait, “operating system” in French is “système d’exploitation”? That’s particularly funny next to Windows 11 offers.
“Système d’exploitation” feels like an apt description of Windows 11 😆
How much for a society without an exploitation system?
Priceless, but out of stock.
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
Partnership and contracts not to be confused with lack of excuse.
Instal Windows everywhere and get cheaper Windows.
Offer Linux and lose the offer from MS.
So, offering linux was bad for business. Was. Bevause thanks to work communities did in Linux and marketing from Steam…and Proton, Linux stopped beimg a thing you’ll easily lose clients over.
Because no one buys Linux PCs. Dell used to sell multiple lines of laptops with Linux, but pretty much no one was buying apart from a few freaks.
Interesting. Only Fedora seems to be available in Norway.
I’m still 2 years away from a new work laptop (my current one is doing just fine anyway), but when the time comes, I might go for this. Was thinking about going ThinkPad+Linux anyway.
Get the laptop without an OS Install a trial copy of windows Go to massgrave.dev.
That’s really cool, but the Spyware and AI bloat is still an issue
Yeah, absolutely. Pretty much all of my devices are on some variant of Debian, but that’s not always feasable for some folks, so with that method, at least you’re not paying Microsoft through the nose for the privilege of harvesting your data.
I’m pretty sure for most people the OS choice isn’t about avoiding to pay, Linux simply is better. I also wouldn’t switch to Windows if I got paid 200€.
It’s -$140 in my area. Additionally, the 2 other models I picked first didn’t have that option at all.
you save 200$ by not having window$ in it?
Depends on the country the computer is being sold in. Microsoft has different pricing structures per country and the OEM selling the computer pays down the line based on sales numbers. That’s the main way MS Windows makes money. The price of Windows has always been part of the computer’s price. It’s a tiny minority of users who pay directly to MS for a windows license. Even businesses prefer the computer comes preinstalled with the OS.
No, you don’t get a cheaper computer if windows is cheaper in your country, final numbers are decided at the accounting level, not the point of sale. But, if they don’t have to pay MS anything, they can offer a cheaper laptop to the you, the end user.
That’s still money saved, the less money to M$ the better
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.
No, Lenovo has offered Ubuntu and at times other distributions preinstalled, for many years. It’s only on a small number of models.
I don’t think they did it at a $200 discount before.
There is no discount, you are simply not paying for a windows license.
But before if you didn’t want Windows, I think Lenovo just pocketed the change.
And OEMs don’t pay anywhere reat retail for a Windows key.
This. $200 is what raised my eyebrows, Windows should not cost them that much when it’s usually “standard”
Now if only Asus did that as wel, then we’d be balling
