Dual boot, and make the gutsy partition a crypto-root.

Set GRUB to a quiet prompt, defaulting to Windoze ... clueless nosey-parkers can play with your fisher-price toy partition.

kbarrett

Oh yeah, and Dell doesnt offer XP with the 1330.

If they did, I would have gotten it.

bpatten

@bpatten: The only way you're getting that is to refuse the OS altogether. I don't think Dell discounts their laptops much (if at all) for buying with Linux.

HeartBurnKid

@Nutbastard: I could be wrong about this, But the real bitch with oem vista is that technically it's only licensed for the machine it's sold with, so you can't legally resell it.

bpatten

Oh, I will.

I just wish I'd gotten another $100 or so off the price of my laptop.

bpatten

Freetard? You have offended me suh! Pistols at dawn!

Kaiser-Machead

@MrBlahBlah:
thats what im saying bro.

nutbastard

OR buy it with XP and sell it for $50

he he he..

nutbastard

really? then why wouldn't you just order with xp, reformat, and load it up with gutsy? now you have a spare copy of windows

MrBlahBlah

@bpatten:
Yup. Thats the real bitch about this... anyone know if they're augmenting the clean install with proprietary drivers and codecs and such? Installing clean ubuntu is abou tthe easiest thing in the world, the pain comes trying to get ALL of your hardware to play nice and trying to get ALL internet media working. Honestly i'd rather buy with vista so at least i could resell the redmond OS for $30 or something, which would help negate the MS tax.

nutbastard

Ya, just install it yourself and you can have both! Wheeee!

Xenocide

Dammit, I just ordered one last weekend.

Oh well, it's not like they really let you out of the "Microsoft Tax" when you buy one with linux anyway.

bpatten

When you buy a machine that comes with a Windows license, it is only for that particular machine. If you destroy that machine with a sledgehammer, and use that license on another machine, it is the same is downloading a pirated copy.

This is why I pirate everything, the laws are morally and ethically wrong.

MikeSWelch

it's not an option online it appears, matt can you back that claim up somehow?

nutbastard

@chrisaroz:

'snot what pir8matt says... i'll look into it.

nutbastard

@nutbastard:

No, you have to order an OS.

chrisaroz

@pir8matt:
doh, didn't read yer post.

nutbastard

@HeartBurnKid:

do you get around MS tax by doing that?

can you order an OS-less computer from dell?

nutbastard

@kbarrett: You mean Windows? :P

Kaiser-Machead

@kbarrett: Do what to the who-what? ;)

I'm glad to see Linux on a ballsy laptop

OENOPHILE

When buying hardware through Dell small business, you can order machines with 'freeDOS'. This is a $0 cost option to accomodate businesses with open licenses. I imagine you could get this if you called to order, and then install ubuntu yourself. Worth a shot.

pir8matt

@MikeSWelch: they're not laws people, remember that please. They're just one way of a company maybe having some dirt on you if they ever wanted to sue your ass.

sisedi

@MikeSWelch:

it's so fucking lame that you dont have the legal right to resell something you buy.

but then we must remember, REAL rights are not granted, they're seized.

nutbastard

@nutbastard:

oh, and when you "buy" a windows licence, you are actually only paying for the right to use the software, you don't own jack shit.

and Dell gives you an OEM CD, all you can do is install it on the machine it came with, unless you nLite the DVD and stick the CD key into the install disk (done it with XP home and pro)

Rob C

@nutbastard:

Dell small business, and only over the phone... just ask for freeDOS instead of linux.

Rob C

BTW - I say "linux freak" in a *nice* way. ;-)

TheBear91

I heard that Mr. Dell is a bit of a Linux freak himself. If it wouldn't kill his business, he'd probably go 100% Linux.

TheBear91

@nutbastard: From what I understand, you can. I've never done it (I much prefer rolling my own rigs), but if you place a phone order and make it clear you want the computer with no OS at all, and are persistent about it, they'll accommodate you.

HeartBurnKid