blog.px

I read something the other day about the “Windows Tax” via [linux-watch.com] basically a method for getting a refund on the OEM version of MS Windows you are “Forced” to buy with a PC from some manufacturers. I wonder if this method will also work when purchasing a Pocket PC with Microsoft Software on it. I’m thinking about this because I just read on the this weeks GWN, that a member of the Russian Gentoo Community managed to get E17 running on his HP iPAQ hx4700. Obviously users have managed to get Linux running on their PDA’s for quite some time, but my brain didn’t really put the one and two together. Why should you have to buy the Pocket PC OS when your just going to put Linux on it anyway? Does Palm have the same terms in their license I wonder?

Now I wonder how difficult this could be mostly because I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Pocket PC OS sold separately. In the Linux.com article the person uses the Microsoft Windows Home Edition as a baseline for his requested refund amount.

Perhaps the refund amount will be more substantial since the cost of a sweet PDA is almost twice as much as the run of the mill PC.