Group seeks refunds for bundled versions of Windows By Jeff Walsh InfoWorld Electric Posted at 5:56 PM PT, Jan 20, 1999 An online group is seeking refunds from Microsoft for unused and unwanted copies of Windows that shipped with their PCs. The group, referring to the unwanted operating system as a "Microsoft tax" on all computers, is rallying Linux, BeOS, BSD, OS/2, and NetWare users to demand a refund on Feb. 15 because of wording in Microsoft's end-user license agreement (EULA). According to the group, Windows users are required to agree to the terms of the EULA, and if they are unwilling to license the software according to the terms Microsoft describes, they are entitled to a refund. The group's Web site, which was launched Tuesday, traces the successful case of Australian Linux user Geoffrey Bennett who secured a $110 refund from Toshiba after saying he was unwilling to agree to the terms of his Windows license, although the operating system was pre-loaded on his laptop. A Toshiba America Information Systems spokesperson said the company does not sell any systems without an operating system, and has no plans to do so. However, customers can choose whether they want Windows NT or Windows 98 pre-loaded. "There's no money-back agreement if they don't want an operating system. It's a whole package," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson, based in the company's Irvine, Calif. office, did not go into details regarding Bennett's rebate, which he obtained in Australia, but did warn other users seeking refunds that it's "not the typical policy and not what other people will run into if they try it." The Windows Refund Center can be reached at www.thenoodle.com/refund. Microsoft Corp., in Redmond, Wash., can be reached at www.microsoft.com. Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., in Irvine, Calif., can be reached at www.toshiba.com. Jeff Walsh is an InfoWorld senior writer. From MAILER-DAEMON@cs.depaul.edu Thu Jan 21 12:38:33 1999