So ASUS insists on this unbelievable process of activating the Windows license, and when I ask for a policy document or confirmation you know what happened? The same guy confirmed his own words to me… feels like a trust me on a movie, and we always know where those famous last words lead, ie, the other party being sorry they gave trust.

Since I’m not willing to go around in a back and forth for much longer, I just demanded proof of the policy, pulling a screen shot from the Windows license where it’s explicitly said that if I don’t agree I can’t use the computer, it’s in Portuguese in the screen shot below, but it roughly translates to…

If The Customer doesn’t accept and doesn’t fulfill these terms, he won’t be able to use the software nor it’s features

I gave them until July 15th at 00:00 to comply, under penalty of, for all due effects, ASUS agreeing that I don’t use nor plan to use Microsoft Windows and that it will process my due reimbursement.

We’re a Free Software home! We want our hardware Microsoft free, here, see?

I already got my Windows refund for my Samsung NP900X3C, but a couple of weeks ago my significant other’s laptop broke and we’ve been keeping an eye out for one that would be good enough, cheap enough, and so we found this Asus NoteBook F200. It’s not a power horse, but she has significantly lower spec needs, nor demands hardly as much as I do from these wee beasties.

These laptop in particular cost exactly 349 €. I got 46.03 € out of Windows 7 Home Professional on the Samsung so I expect to get quite a bit more than that for Windows 8.1. It’s only been about 6 months so it’s reasonable to expect a decent refund.

But consider this: if I got exactly the same value back, it would mean the Microsoft Tax costs 11% of the laptop. Yes, you heard me well, it would be almost exactly as expensive as a netbook while being much more powerful. Interesting… felling robbed yet?

Fortunately she’s not as geek as I am so although she’s anxious to start using it, she’s patient enough to get the Windows refund. She knows it’s possible, she witnessed it first hand in her own household, so of course she wants it too and that gives me some leeway in the time it could take following all the cautiousness of the first steps:

1. Buy laptop but don’t open it
2. Call support, they’ll send me their requirements
3. Find out that even though they spelled out my email perfectly, they misspelled it when they pressed send. hmms….
4. Call support again, next morning, complain about 3, got fishy instructions by voice, demanded the email and finally got it.

So the email goes like this:

Dear customer.

Case number: #########

Please, reply to this email attaching a copy of the purchase receipt, copy of the first page of the warranty certificate, where there is the serial number and, as explained on the phone, after activating Windows, a screenshot of the system properties where one can verify its license number.

As soon as we receive it, we’ll begin the refund process for the value of Windows.

We’ll be waiting.

Attentiously,

ASUS Iberia.

Erms… activating it??? I did ask for clarification on the phone, because that used to be a big no-no previously, but he reassured me it’s different with Windows 8.

Well, now I have it in writing… so I’ll be letting you know.