Get your Windows license refund • Hacker News Board

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#311

Post by jonathanberger » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 10:15 AM UTC

milon wrote: post #183

jonathanberger wrote: post #174

> Consumers should have the right to decline pre-installed software As a consumer I should also have the right to free ice cream and a pony ride. Many of us have tried to start or run businesses small or large. Does it make any sense for a government to start telling us what software the business should use or not use? Consumers already have the right to decline pre-installed software: don't buy the laptop. There, yo…

It sounds reasonable to have the opportunity to buy hardware without software you do not intend to use. Though, I do assume that from the POV of the company selling the software, it would be ideal for the customer to not have a choice. I guess companies also want free ice creams and pony rides.

> ideal for the customer to not have a choice

Let's say you and I bump into each other in the town square and we each have some things we might be willing to give the other if we get the right thing in return. In that situation I'd think both sides have the right to offer what they like and both sides can choose freely whether to accept what is offered.

What is different about this town square and your relationship to say Dell?

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#312

Post by Telaneo » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC

karlgkk wrote: post #302

Telaneo wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The phone numbers never stopped working. You just stopped calling The bank managed to not fix the problem the last 4 times my grandmother called them. Every single problem required an appointment to fix (I suspect they're not even allowed to do anything with any account over phone given how many times this has happened). Yes, her bank is bad and I've told her to switch. But I wouldn't expect any other bank to actua…

No offense but it sounds like your grandmother has a skill issue.

We can't all be good at everything.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#313

Post by herbst » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 11:37 AM UTC

d3Xt3r wrote: post #254

boplicity wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am seriously saddened by the complete takeover of mobile computing by Apple and Google. There is no freedom on your own device to choose your own software, except inside the very narrow constraints allowed.

Thankfully, Linux phones are becoming more and more viable as a daily-driver. We just need more folks to start using them.

If not for online banking I probably wouldn't even have a smartphone, however none of my banks supports anything other than recent androids. I feel stuck

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#314

Post by IshKebab » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 12:25 PM UTC

jonathanberger wrote: post #309

IshKebab wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so incredibly naive. You're basically saying no consumer laws should exist at all. Any commercial activity is fine no matter how underhanded.

Let's have consumer laws but have the right ones. A company shouldn't have the right to hurt me, for example.

If you don't want to get electrocuted by unsafe products just don't buy them. /s

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#315

Post by attila-lendvai » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 1:34 PM UTC

herbst wrote: post #313

d3Xt3r wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully, Linux phones are becoming more and more viable as a daily-driver. We just need more folks to start using them.

If not for online banking I probably wouldn't even have a smartphone, however none of my banks supports anything other than recent androids. I feel stuck

then look for alternatives to banking itself! that impulse will shape the world even more.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#316

Post by attila-lendvai » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 1:36 PM UTC

NegativeK wrote: post #256

lern_too_spel wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What freedom do you need beyond replacing the OS, which is possible on all phones Google sells? If you want to replace the radio firmware, that isn't something that would be possible without that duopoly either.

The Pixel line is, from what I can see, a tiny part of the smart phone market share. So, yes, I can buy a phone that I can mostly control (at the risk of losing access to some draconian apps). But most devices being sold don't allow consumer control.

consumer control begins by chosing what you give your money for.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#317

Post by ninalanyon » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 1:55 PM UTC

karlgkk wrote: post #302

Telaneo wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The phone numbers never stopped working. You just stopped calling The bank managed to not fix the problem the last 4 times my grandmother called them. Every single problem required an appointment to fix (I suspect they're not even allowed to do anything with any account over phone given how many times this has happened). Yes, her bank is bad and I've told her to switch. But I wouldn't expect any other bank to actua…

No offense but it sounds like your grandmother has a skill issue.

Why should the customer of a bank need any skills? Surely the bank is the one that should have the skills.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#318

Post by ninalanyon » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 1:57 PM UTC

karlgkk wrote: post #249

lukan wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would I want 3 or more devices, when I want one device capable of it all and under my control?

Congratulations on missing the point entirely. You don’t NEED a smartphone for daily life. It sure is convenient though!

If your daily life includes interacting with a bank then in many cases you absolutely do need a smartphone many banks no longer have websites that can be accessed with a web browser.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#319

Post by inigyou » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 2:19 PM UTC

avadodin wrote: post #305

tough wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's been very funny to go through life discovering such shibboleths exist in so many random places and its like getting a powerup to even find out about them...

A few months ago I bought a scam CPU along with a working computer. The CPU is almost identical in performance to the one they were advertising —it was certainly malicious— but do I deserve $200 for something I didn't even care about in the first place? There an argument to be made for harming the criminals even if you deserve it but it just doesn't vibe with my type.

If it's identical in performance, in what way is it a scam?

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#320

Post by ninalanyon » Sat, Aug 29, 2026, 2:20 PM UTC

type0 wrote: post #275

karlgkk wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They still make dumb phones. And you can get a voip client on Linux.

Many so called dumb phones are just Android phones with buttons, real dumb low powered devices are being phased out because you don't get support for VoLTE Emergency

My Nokia 105 has 4G (as well as 3G and 2G) and is definitely not a smartphone and absolutely not an Android. It runs S30+.

What do you mean by:

> support for VoLTE Emergency