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Comment by pilif | Hacker News Reader

Did I understand this correctly? When you buy any PC with crapware on it at $discounter, you can go to that Microsoft store, buy another, possibly non-upgrade, license of Windows and they install that?

So in turn, MS gets to sell two licenses (the oem and the end-user one), the crapware vendor gets paid for installing the crapware and the consumer gets a clean windows installation for more than twice the price. Awesome deal. Yes.

I know why I stopped using Windows machines

Edit: also, it's debatable whether Acrobat Reader doesn't also qualify as crapware, when you consider it's recent security history and the fact that there are alternatives around (which, unfortunately, isn't true for flash player)

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I would just like to say alternatives for Acrobat Reader are generally crap and can barely display the page correctly, not to mention print.

You can get a refund for an unused OEM licence.

Still absurd. The steps apparently:

1) Buy the computer which includes the price of the OEM license (and with the version which also doesn't ask you for the license key)

2) Try to get the money back for the OEM license (edit: AFAIK you can do this only if you never try to use the computer until that point).

3) Carry the computer to the Windows Store

4) Buy there the more expensive license, with which you have to type in the license key whenever you do a reinstall (well, of course, why not paying more to have it harder to use).

5) Let the MS store guys "apply the Signature configuration to it."

6) Whenever you want to reinstall your dearly paid Windows (in money and the time spent), go to step 3) (carrying your whole computer!) convince the guys there you did the step 4) and that you don't want to do it again to make them do the step 5)

And they actually have the nerve to write: "Microsoft Signature Upgrade: It’s a great way to make your PC experience even better."

Brought to you by the company that gave you Windows Vista.

Normally you'd just buy the PC at Microsoft Store. You probably don't have to to go back for reinstall, there will be a restore DVD or partition.

We are talking here about the "Microsoft Signature Upgrade" -- not the "Microsoft Signature on any PC purchased from the Microsoft Store." Check the main article again.

    > 4) Buy there the more expensive license, 
    > with which you have to type in the license 
    > key whenever you do a reinstall (well, of 
    > course, why not paying more to have it 
    > harder to use).

it'll be MUCH more expensive. The list price of non-oem non-upgrade Windows 7 Home Premium is $199.99 as opposed to the OEM version which is ~$90 if you buy it on the web.

I would assume that the hardware vendors get better prices from MS, say, $70, but what they are going to refund you is more like $30 or something.

So even if (and that's a huge if) you can get your OEM license refunded, you still have to pay a huge premium to get that clean installation.

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