Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (
More info?)
"Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net> wrote:
....
>Windows 2000 is really old, almost antique (in computer terms)
>software. It doesn't surprise me to see it highly discounted.
>It's almost as old (relatively speaking) as Windows 98, and how
>much would you pay for that? So the link to Windows 2000 for fifty
>bucks is very believable, as a legitimate deal with no catch.
>Windows XP is also somewhat old now (in computer terms). But it is
>still a *current* offering, so it will be harder to find legitimate
>bargains. I've seen many offers for Windows XP on ebay for really
>cheap prices. They are legitimate offers, with a minor catch. The
>license agreement says that it must be purchased with hardware, and
>can only be used with that hardware. So to be absolutely legit,
>you'd have to never remove/update/replace the hardware that you
>purchased with the XP Operating System.
I think that's absolutely legit to the point of silly, for most of us
living in the real world. That assumes the buyer remembers the
transaction. Lots of things are written, few things are meaningful.
The first time I bought one from eBay the seller didn't deliver. He
immediately refunded my money when I asked about it (after I did
copious amounts of research on him and found out he was living in a
hotel in San Diego). After lots of looking on eBay the second time, I
ended up buying Windows XP from an online merchant for the same price
or less than current prices on eBay.
>So if it came
>with a stick of RAM, for example, the OS could be used with that
>stick of RAM -ONLY-. If you want to upgrade to faster RAM, you
>need to purchase a new OS to do so. An example of one of these
>(with miscellaneous hardware) auctions is below:
>
>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41888&item=71
>30811254&rd=1 (note that I am in no way affiliated with this
>particular auction)
>
>Whether this is a hidden gimmick or not is up to you. If you are
>the type of person to use a computer for many years without
>upgrading/replacing it, it really COULD be a good deal. But then,
>if you are looking for an OS for a laptop, it might be tough to
>find the right hardware/OS package to go with that.
>(non-peripheral hardware to install in a notebook?!? . . . good
>uck) -Dave
>
>