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Californians Can Get Free MS-Settlement PCs 265

Posted by timothy from the watch-out-for-strings dept.
soliaus writes "Seeing as how Microsoft recently lost the anti-trust lawsuit in California, Lindows has taken charge and is offering people free Lindows-related goodies. Basically, Lindows files a claim on your behalf, they keep the money, and you can get a copy of Lindows; a Click-N-Run subscription; a free PC; or other Lindows goods. More information about filing a claim on your own can be found here." (Note that this only applies if you purchased a computer for use in California.) Other companies will probably come out with their own approach to trading settlement money for goods, too, so if Lindows isn't your choice, waiting is a good idea.
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Californians Can Get Free MS-Settlement PCs More

Californians Can Get Free MS-Settlement PCs

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  • Other distros should be doing this. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jbottero ( 585319 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @09:55AM (#6985697)
    Well, I really have no interest in Lindows, but this is a great idea! RedHat should be doing this!

  • Hope you already did your Christmas shopping... (Score:5, Informative)

    by RobertB-DC ( 622190 ) * on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @09:55AM (#6985701) Homepage Journal
    From the MSfreePC.com FAQ [msfreepc.com] page:
    Q: Is there a deadline for me to make my claim using MSfreePC.com?
    A: Yes. The MSfreePC program is scheduled to end at the latest March 15, 2004. However, depending on demand levels, the ability to use MSfreePC.com to get an Instant Settlement* could end at ANY time [emphasis theirs], so you'll want to make your claim today! Also, keep in mind that the FREE PC offer is only valid for the first 10,000 claimants who acquire $100 worth of products through the MSfreePC program.

    Depending on the robustness of the MSfreePC.com server, "depending on demand levels" may mean that "the ability to use MSfreePC.com" could end about 10 seconds after the story shows up on Slashdot...

    If it does get Slashdotted, though, I've still got the FAQ in cache and would be happy to post it.
    • Isn't this kind of a form of scare tactics? "Get it now, from us, or you may never be able to get it"
    • The free PC requires to to pay for shipping & handling and we know that can sometimes be very expensive.

    • And from the news article... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by kiwimate ( 458274 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:26AM (#6985983) Journal
      Nobody can submit claims until two months from now, at which time Alvarado is expected to approve the exact wording of the public notification of the settlement.

      So there will be a fairly short window of opportunity.

      But this, to me, is much more interesting.

      Two-thirds of the unclaimed money will go to California public schools in a mix of donated Microsoft software and cash grants. Although the maximum value of the settlement is $1.1 billion, Microsoft could end up paying as little as $367 million in cash, which is what it would owe to California public schools if no vouchers are claimed. If all vouchers are claimed, Microsoft would be required to pay the maximum, but schools would then get nothing.

      Now I wonder how this part of the negotiations worked out. The more that is claimed by Californians, the more they are effectively taking away from the public schools.

      So (in a fit of pure speculation and knowing bugger all about how these things work in that great state), is there a chance that educational organizations might start running radio advertisements encouraging people to voluntarily give up their claims so that the money can automatically go to the schools? And, if that were to happen, and be successful in any quantity, might it then be possible for Microsoft to turn around and say, "see, people really didn't care that much after all"?

      Now, my initial reaction is to think there's no way this could happen. But then I stop to consider just how little reimbursement [slashdot.org] would actually be involved for most people, and the fact that they have to go through the whole rigmarole of filling out the paperwork and submitting it and so on (unless they take up Lindows on their offer), and it just might work out that a fair quantity of people decide it's not worth it for them and they'd just as soon have it go to the schools.

      • Re:And from the news article... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Cutriss ( 262920 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:51AM (#6986175) Homepage
        What's to stop PTAs from banding together their members, having them filing claims the settlement as private users, only to donate the equipment to the schools? The schools (in theory) get more money, and the citizens get a nice tax break.
      • you can donate/sell/do whatever you want with your vouchers. So the choice is to claim the voucher for yourself, for a school, or let 1/3 of unclaimed voucher go to schools.

        If you really want to help schools, not claiming a voucher is not the way to do it. Claiming it, and giving it to a school however is!
      • How about this for an idea that would make Microsoft pay the most and the schools would still win?

        10k people should claim their vouchers, and then turn around and donate it to the schools of their choice. That would mean $1.1b for schools than just $367m.

        I'm not a Californian, so I would the the wrong person to start this.
      • The site's STILL slashdotted so there'll be no free peecees today. And since when is it really a good thing for public schools to be given tens of Millions of dollars worth of software that really costs MS nothing in the first place? ALL THAT DOES IS GIVE THEM MORE CONTROL OF THE MARKET.

        Claiming vouchers and then NOT spending the money on microsoft goodies actually costs MS money AND erodes their hold on the market, which is what this settlement was supposed to do. If you want to help the public schools, d

      • The more that is claimed by Californians, the more they are effectively taking away from the public schools.

        You said it yourself:

        in a mix of donated Microsoft software and cash grants.


        Frankly, the less Microsoft software public schools get, the better off they all are. It's like saying that a drug-dealer over-charged the public, and now is being forced to give up to $1Billion worth of cocaine to public schools.
      • Well, assuming that you also don't care what the costs to MS are, the public schools are best off when people make their claims and then donate the money to the schools. As I read it, in that case the schools would get much more hard cash and not just some more boxes of Office 2003 that forces them to buy more copies of XP :). But if people really are willing to donate that money......

  • Creative marketing (Score:2, Informative)

    by Ratface ( 21117 )
    Now *that's* some good creative thinking there. Who ever said that all marketing folk are good for nothen eh? ;-)

    Seriously, I'm looking forward to seeing how this initiative pans out - getting it mentioned on Slashdot is a good step towards getting the viral marketing concept going though!

  • That this 1.1 billion dollars won't even come close to bankrupting Microsoft.

    But at least it's more the slap on the wrist that the Feds gave them.

    • Re:And the sad news is... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      That this 1.1 billion dollars won't even come close to bankrupting Microsoft

      The point of the settlement wasn't to bankrupt m$, it was to make them pay for damages caused by anti-competitive practices...
    • It's really an advantage to them, when it is supposed to punish them. In exchange for giving away some free CD's that cost them about 1.4 cents each to press, they get a huge foothold in the CA schools, which are a main cash-cow for Apple. Bureaucracy as it is, once you get the momentum going with free crap from MS, you become beholden to it in the long term. In a few years when the vouchers run out but the computers are still around, you better believe they will be shelling out cash for Windows XYZ or wh

      • Re:The even sadder news is... (Score:5, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:27AM (#6985990)
        a savings account of $100 billion!

        Wow! They must keep it pretty well hidden since their balance sheet shows only $6 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Even if you include short-term investments (which you really shouldn't because investments are not as liquid) you only get to $49 billion.

        I also wonder how much of a cash-cow are CA schools for Apple. I am guessing that they pretty much give the stuff away for the same reason that MS would be glad to give away their software. There is nothing forcing schools to switch to Windows and if they are already all Mac they probably wouldn't because it would require new hardware. This really should only benefit schools that already use Windows and in that case Microsoft gains nothing.

        Nice troll, though.
      • They could give the stuff away and still make money just by charging for upgrades...

        Actually, as a monopolist, I don't believe they'd be allowed to.

        Screwy, eh?

    • Slap on the wrist ? It was a high five between the Feds and Microsoft.

  • GNU PCs! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Big Mark ( 575945 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @09:59AM (#6985738)
    These PCs... are they distributed under the GPL, or aren't they truly free?

  • I just made my claim (Score:4, Funny)

    by ImNotThatSmart ( 705646 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:00AM (#6985743)
    I am getting a copy of Lindows, a two button mouse, and a 486DX33mhz!

  • Lindows of $$ .. hmm (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:00AM (#6985746)
    i think i'd much rather have the money than a crippled copy of debian. Is there no provision to get cash back instead of an operating system you don't want?
    • mod this guy up -- even if it is AC -
      this post is bleeding irony.

    • LindowsOS is not crippled in any way. It contains under the hood a fully functional Debian system, with a fully functional apt-get. Click-N-Run is just an interface for commercial software distribution and a much easier way for inexperienced users to install software. If you want, you can use apt-get to install all of your software in LindowsOS without a problem.

  • Gives an insight into how MS pricing works (Score:5, Interesting)

    by kiwimate ( 458274 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:02AM (#6985765) Journal
    Q: What benefits are available under the settlement?

    A: You will receive vouchers redeemable for cash after the purchase of a wide variety of software and computer hardware products. The vouchers are worth: $16 for each Microsoft Windows or MS-DOS license claimed; $29 for each Microsoft Office license claimed; $5 for each Microsoft Word, Home Essentials or Works Suite license claimed; and $26 for each Microsoft Excel license claimed.

    {Emphasis added}

    • Too bad I have never purchased Microsoft Office, Word, Home Essentials, Works Suite or Excel.

      Never needed them, nor would I ever use them on my home computers.

      Have Win98 SE, Win2K and WinXP systems at home, with the Win98 SE system soon to be turned in to a Debian Linux system. :)

      I have purchased Microsoft OSes (DOS, Windows, etc.) over the years, but that is the ONLY Microsoft software I have ever needed or wanted to purchase.

      I can tell you this, I have purchased my last Microsoft OS, I will never

    • Yup - cheaper than Lindows is on the shelf and probably about the same per copy for schools or OEM's. It kind of dispells the "1/4th of your computer cost is MS software" myth for the majority of people who buy OEM. Although most of this is speculation, so take it with a bucket of salt, I've heard that Dell doesn't pay a whole lot more than this.

      I think this is why MS PR has continually said that they aren't going to compete on price. They really don't have to.

  • Anybody in California (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:03AM (#6985775)
    used the "Instant Settlement* Wizard" yet to see how much they can get?

  • Only one state? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Hackie_Chan ( 678203 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:05AM (#6985794)
    This gave me a splendid idea!

    California is only one state, right? So why don't the rest of the 49 states in the US sue Microsoft so they have to pay up to 52.8 billion dollars in settlement instead?

    That should take care of 'em! Bwhahaahhahah!
    • So, every state has the same number of people in it as Cali?

      With just as big an IT economy/market (probably a better measure for the size of a potential settlement than population)?

      I realize the parent post was probably intended as funny, but the mod's don't seem to ("Interesting" - wtf?)

      Regardless, doesn't MS have about 45 billion in cash?
    • That's like what, 10% of the total value of the evil empire? They won't even have to sell the death star back to the bank to recoup that loss.

    • Because it sets a bad precedent. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Shivetya ( 243324 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:22AM (#6985948) Homepage Journal
      Allowing courts and governments to determine pricing is bad precedent.

      Californian's wonder why businesses are leaving in droves will soon see other effects. You cannot have predatory governments and courts and expect your economy to thrive.

      Right now the cost of doing business is not high enough to force everyone out, but inch by inch they leave. (iow, we know Ms will never leave, but there are smaller companies who other effects of the abuse of government and courts there)

      Don't cheer crap like this.
      • Predatory governments? What about the company that's getting punished here, who effectively figured out how to make everyone pay for something they didn't want in order to get something they did?

        There may be examples where the California government has mistreated businesses and driven them to leave, but this is not one of them. They've taken an action which serves as a remedy for a practice that should never have been allowed in the first place.

        • "Punished"?

          Yeah, I'm sure Microsoft will just open up its wallet and say, "Uh, you got change for a billion?", I left my small bills on the nightstand.

          As far as punishments go, this is peeing in the ocean... and on top of it all, MS ends up getting thousands of up-and-coming customers by flooding the schools with their software.

        • Most of these so called victims of Microsoft here are imaginary. Their use is to, a:inflate the payment to the legal firm who is the true beneficiary, or b:give money to California by means other than direct tax.

          Sorry, but I doubt you can come up with more legitimate "victims" here than non legitimate. This is a simple "soak the deep pocket corporation" lawsuiit. These work wonders when there is benefit to the government.

          Desktop usage of Linux variants in no way can justify the numbers that this lawsui
          • They are deciding through a court what you or a corporation is permitted to charge.
            Only if you or the corporation is a convicted monopolist.
            The normal assumption is that market forces will ensure a reasonable degree of equity. In the case of a monopoly, those market forces do not exist and some other form of relief is necessary.
      • Its not just governments and courts, capitalism is a predatory system. We thrive on it. Land owners, businesses, courts and governments, public utilities, TV and telephone services, and any other organization of authority will always use their power to take more money than they require or deserve.

        We're nothing but used car salemen. Which is why I keep saying capitalism is not the best form of society. I don't want to be another predator, and I hate being the prey. Its just frustrating.
        • Its not just governments and courts, capitalism is a predatory system. We thrive on it. Land owners, businesses, courts and governments, public utilities, TV and telephone services, and any other organization of authority will always use their power to take more money than they require or deserve.

          You're forgetting individuals, too. I've never heard of anybody turning down a pay raise in my entire life. There is no "predator" and "prey". Read a basic econ book.
          • The predator is the intelligent person who understands what it means to be an entrepreneur. They create marketing departments for the sole purpose of selling useless widgets for a profit. These marketing departments hire psychologists.

            The prey on the ignorant masses that purchase things they see advertised by "cool" people on TV. They are being manipulated every day by commercialism and our use of psychologists.

            interesting reference [essential.org]

            Here's a quote:

            "We are writing today about the latter prohibition.
      • ...but there are smaller companies who other effects of the abuse of government and courts there

        I seriously doubt that any of these "smaller companies" will be found guilty of violating antitrust laws. This lawsuit was about Microsoft abusing it's monopoly status, not about the government enriching itself.

      • Allowing courts and governments to determine pricing is bad precedent.

        They have ALWAYS been allowed to determine prices for Monopolies.

        Besides, this is a judgement that they were ripping-off consumers, not just that they wanted Microsoft to lower prices.
    • Somehow I doubt Washington state will be terribly eager to fine what is probably the biggest company and largest source of jobs inside its borders...

  • Now THAT is marketing! (Score:3, Funny)

    by winstarman ( 624536 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:09AM (#6985832) Homepage
    Whoever came up with that should be promoted. Just think, you can get someone else to screw over Microsoft on your behalf.

    God Bless the USA!

    R-
  • Note that participating in this involves signing over your claim to Lindows. This is probably a good thing. Lindows are a major pain in the ass for the boys from Redmond, and they deserve our general support for this.

    It's hard to understand the hostility some people demonstrate towards Lindows, which is a good package, well-made and well-supported. It's not ideal for pioneer Linux users, but you do have a large choice of alternatives. What Lindows has done is to demonstrate the possibility of a migration path from Windows to Linux, and for we should be grateful.

    Incidentally, to those who say Lindows is "crippleware" it's very hard to cripple Debian, which classically bootstraps from a diskette. You do need to know what a shell prompt is, and how to use apt-get, but that's about it.


    • Here's my "Get started with Linux" experience:
      1. Go to Amazon.com
      2. Search for "Red Hat Linux"
      3. Order book which includes distro

      Time spent: < 3 minutes. Cost of book ~ $25

      So, now I have a nice install of Linux, plus a big book with info without having to go through the hassle of dealing with some other company which will no doubt start hitting me with marketing "messages" from now on. I think its much more cost effective to do things this way, especially when factoring in the time.

    • "It's hard to understand the hostility some people demonstrate towards Lindows, which is a good package, well-made and well-supported."

      If by "well-supported" you mean "we're sorry, the application you are attempting to run/install will not run on this operating system", I would have to agree!

      The truth is that Lindows would probably confuse the Linux-curious more so than another distro. running Gnome or KDE. At least they would KNOW they're using something different, as opposed to having an anuerism ove

    • Lindows is a bit strange if you ask me. The default user is root, there's a "My Computer", there's a "My Documents" folder, and the icons are stolen from MacOS X. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen; you can't steal other people's icons!

      And the fact that it's debian doesn't make me feel any better. So what if it's Linux, they took all the good stuff* out!

      * Like apt, decent icons, stability, not having to pay for the Gimp (they charge you at their site!!), etc.
      • the icons are stolen from MacOS X

        No, they weren't. They do their graphics in house. The guy who does most of the graphics is really good, and a cool guy.

        they took all the good stuf [like apt, gimp] out

        apt is still there! All you have to do to start installing software from debian's repository is apt-get update; apt-get install gimp (or some other package). You can edit /etc/apt/sources.list to add unstable and get more recent software versions, or add others custom repositories for packages not in

  • hey. great. (Score:2, Informative)

    by inkedmn ( 462994 )
    while i'm all about microsoft taking it in the shorts, who cares about a free copy of lindows? it's a proprietary piece of software (not that being proprietary is necessarily a bad thing), and, um, linux is free?

    it's almost like buying fake dog shit when i've got a perfectly healthy dog producing the real thing every day before lunch...

  • How are they getting the money? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tbase ( 666607 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:15AM (#6985872)
    From what I read, they don't require the proof that the settlement requires, so how are they going to get the money? And what's stopping you from filing claims with both MS and Lindows? I doubt MS is going to share it's data with Lindows.

  • But what happens... (Score:5, Funny)

    by johnwyles ( 704259 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:18AM (#6985914)
    ...if someone sues IBM? Do we get a free copy of SCO?
  • Get a free copy of OS X Panther, iChat A/V, and an iSight for your settlement ^^

  • No documentation required? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:30AM (#6986012)
    Stupid.

    Avoid giving in to the temptation to just list things you haven't purchased. You are declaring, under penalty of perjury, that you really did buy them. And unless you're the president of the US, perjury is a serious offense.

  • Fraud? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by I am Kobayashi ( 707740 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:32AM (#6986029)
    *If you qualify, your "Instant Settlement" is the credit that Lindows.com will give to you to immediately purchase products using the MSfreePC program in exchange for the right to process your settlement claim on your behalf as described in more detail in Step 7 and Step 8 of the Instant Settlement Wizard.

    I find it interesting you are unable to learn the details of their "instant settlement" plan until steps 7 and 8... after you provide your:
    (1) email address;
    (2) tell them the number of covered products you purchased, where you purchased them from, and when you purchased them;
    (3) tell them what Lindows package you want (sorry no returns or refunds...);
    (4) provide them your name, address, phonenumber, and LAST FOUR DIGITS OF YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ; and then
    (5) digitally sign a verification under penalty of perjury...
    After giving them that information, then they will tell you the details of the "instant settlement" plan.... I hope someone files a class-action against this site soon....Or better yet, where is the California Attorney General on this one?

  • What about earlier versions? (Score:3, Funny)

    by rikkards ( 98006 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:33AM (#6986046) Journal
    I had an XT when we lived in California in 88 (I think) Do I still apply? :)

  • Perfect (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Bamfsog ( 535812 )
    People will use Lindows for a few weeks, then sales of Windows XP will spike up as people decide to get work done instead of fighting their OS.

    Disclaimer:
    I am running Gentoo, RedHat, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003 in the room I am in. I belive they all have their uses. I just don't like Lindows.

  • something ironic here (Score:4, Funny)

    by b17bmbr ( 608864 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @10:49AM (#6986160)
    to learn more information, you need to click on a flash presentation, which requires a plugin. hmmm...
    • to learn more information, you need to click on a flash presentation, which requires a plugin. ...which is available at no cost for the most popular platforms, including yours I'll bet. If you choose not to install it, that's your business.

  • Get StarOffice 6.0 immediately also.... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @11:01AM (#6986265)
    Part of this program allows you to get StarOffice 6.0 for either Microsoft Windows or LindowsOS which would cost $69 from Amazon.

    You can immediately download a fully functioning digital copy. So even if you're not interested in LindowsOS (which it seems dumb not to at least check it out) there is something else of real value.

    The whole tab is on Microsoft. This seems like a win-win.
  • After the settlement, newsgroups saw a sharp increase in requests for XP Pro Corporate and ensuing license keys.

    Microsoft replied with "No Comment" through a background of snickers, guffaws and peals of laughter.

  • I wonder if this is only for PCs purchased in store in CA or what if I ordered a Dell FROM CA?
  • When I tried to use that site, it claimed I "already had an account". This is impossible, because I created a new E-mail address for just that purpose, using one of my own domains. Then they sent me the "password" for "my account". Attempting to "log in" with that led to an endless login loop. After clearing all "can't store a cookie" site in Mozilla, the site tried to sign me up for a "free trial" at $14.95.
    • More info:
      • Bonus FREE PC Offer Details

        To qualify to receive the Bonus FREE PC, you must be one of the first 10,000 people who purchases $100 of products at the MSfreePC.com web site using your Instant Settlement*. The FREE PC will be a version of a WebStation PC.

        After the court-appointed settlement claims administrator has paid your claim, and the monies have been received by us and any checks have cleared, we will email you (at the email address you provide to MSfreePC.com) the details on how to rece

  • Can someone answer this for me? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by greymond ( 539980 ) on Wednesday September 17, 2003 @12:46PM (#6987232) Homepage Journal
    I think I might still have my original cd's for 95, 98, and 2000. But the problem is I don't have ANY of the paperwork that came with them. I might have the cd's on a little slip of paper with them, but I never thought i'd get anything back for them so I never bothered to keep that stuff, plus it's been oh 8 years since I bought win95 and i'm not a pack-rat. Since they ask for the "original certificate of authenticity" can I just send them my original cd's? I'm sure they'd be able to tell that they are real and not "fake" whatever that means...

    any ideas suggestions?

  • Am I a member of the class if I stole MS software from a location in California sometime during the period in question?

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