From: "Rich Gauszka" 

I don't know the answer to that. This article is from 2002 and It may still
be applicable

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-868505.html
Anthony Fama, Gateway's group counsel, said in testimony submitted by nine
states and the District of Columbia that the Redmond, Wash.-based software
maker can still use Windows licensing agreements and other contractual
provisions to extract concessions from PC makers.

Fama, who also appeared in court Monday and will likely take the stand
again Tuesday, was critical of the proposed settlement because, he
asserted, it effectively gives Microsoft too much wiggle room.

Microsoft, for instance, can grant or withhold market-development funds
more or less at will under the new licensing agreements. Such funds pay for
a substantial part of a PC maker's television and print advertisements and
can add up to huge sums. PC makers that agree to ship all PCs with Windows,
for example, can receive $10 per PC in market development funds.



"Gary Britt"  wrote in
message news:45b8d582{at}w3.nls.net...
Normally volume discounts would be in some kind of stair step setup where
the steps are big enough that Dell wouldn't be paying more than HP.  Are
windows volume discounts so granular that this is not true?

Gary

Rich Gauszka wrote:
> it appears only the small vendors can afford to ignore the Windows tax -
>
> 'While Microsoft can't punish companies for selling rival operating
> systems, machines with anything but Windows installed don't help PC makers
> meet the quotas necessary to pay Microsoft lower rates.'
>
> http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/01/magazines/business2/microsoft_vista.biz2/
>
> To settle the government's massive antitrust lawsuit, Microsoft agreed to
> charge all PC makers a uniform royalty, based on the number of Window
> licenses they buy. The more Windows licenses a PC maker buys, the cheaper
> the cost per unit.
>
> While Microsoft can't punish companies for selling rival operating
> systems, machines with anything but Windows installed don't help PC makers
> meet the quotas necessary to pay Microsoft lower rates.
>
> "Microsoft doesn't leave much room for negotiation," says Citigroup
> analyst Brent Thill. Nor does it have to.
>
> What if Linux went luxe?
> Hewlett-Packard (Charts) could, in theory, save some money upfront by
> putting Linux on 10 percent of the desktop PCs it sells at retail. But
> that would just make the rest of its Windows desktops more expensive,
> because it would no longer be selling as many Windows licenses as
> archrival Dell, and Microsoft could legally charge it more.
>
> HP, which recently overtook Dell (Charts) the world's largest PC maker,
> can't afford to hand its vanquished rival any cost advantages.
>
> In a nutshell, switching to a rival OS system will hurt more than help the
> bottom lines of PC makers. The straightforward economic scheme that
> regulators set up to keep Microsoft in check is essentially keeping the PC
> industry in the Windows fold - just as Redmond's brass-knuckle tactics
> once did.
>
> This explains why Walmart.com sells a Linux PC made by Microtel Computer
> Systems, an obscure PC maker few people have heard of. The companies that
> are brave enough to sell Linux PCs are the ones that aren't unloading
> large volumes of Windows PCs to begin with. And because they're small,
> they can't negotiate volume-based price discounts with component suppliers
> like Intel.
>
> That's why Microtel's Linux PC is less powerful than a Windows machine at
> the same price.
>
> "Gary Britt" 
wrote in message
> news:45b7ab72$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> Does Dell pay a licensing or other fee to Microsoft on machines they ship
> without Windows?  Does Dell's contracts with Microsoft require a fee for
> every computer sold irrespective of whether Windows is sold with the
> machine?
>
> Gary
>
> Rich wrote:
>>    These aren't new.  Dell has been offering these for a while.
>>  As for a supposed savings, I priced an E520 from there and an otherwise
>> identical one with Windows XP Media Center and a free upgrade to Windows
>> Vista.  The system with freedos was $10 cheaper.  Dell supports the
>> system with Windows and it will support it with freedos.  It doesn't
>> support it with linux or other non-dell installed OS.
>>  Rich
>>
>>     "Ad" >     >
wrote in message
>>     news:45b733b4$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>     Blimey are Dell turning into knowing accomplices of pirates?
>>
>>
>>
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/e510_nseries?c=us&cs=19&l=e
n&s=dhs
>>
>>
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/e510_nseries?c=us&cs=19&l=
en&s=dhs>
>>
>>     "Are you looking for a desktop on which you can run
LinuxR  or other
>>     open-source operating systems? Look no further!
>>
>>     Dell's new open-source n Series desktop solution provides customers
>>     with
>>     a DimensionTM  E520, E521 or C521 desktop without an installed or
>>     included MicrosoftR  operating system. With the n Series desktop,
>>     customers have the flexibility to install an alternative operating
>>     system (such as a version of LinuxR ), and help reduce the price of
>>     this
>>     system. In addition, the n Series desktop comes with a non-formatted
>>     hard drive ready for your custom installation. Dell's n Series
>> desktop
>>     ships with a copy of FreeDosTM , an open-source operating system
>>     that is
>>     ready to install. "
>>
>>
>>
>>     Adam
>
>

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