[l0nk]

Hi, I lived in China (Dalian), and laptops are sold with FreeDOS. It's mainly used to boot and to make sure the laptop is working. And to check that you get what you paid for! People who can pay for Windows don't live in China, that's why :) (well of course a minority can, but they don't buy their laptops in the same stores...). In US/CA/EU/Japan I think everybody can afford to pay the little extra for a windows licence.

[dllthomas]

Sure I can afford to pay a little extra for a windows license, but why on earth should I be expected to "pay a little extra" for something I'm not going to use?

My point above, however, was that I might not be paying extra - the crapware pushers might be subsidizing my linux box (with an extraneous tithe to MS).

[shimon_e]

I spend much of the year in China and I find the laptops overpriced or underpowered for the price they are offered for.

Sure, comparing retail price in China to the west usually has China being lower. However, most savvy buyers in the west buy their laptops from deals or outlet and with endless coupons. I haven't found either Dell's or Lenovo's outlet in China yet. Do they exist in China?