Comments on: Is Boxed Software A Waste Of Money?

By: ~rTP

~rTP — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:27:37 +0000

While it is true that the retail cost of the OS is grossly overpriced, Dell is still only worth 40 bucks if you ask me

By: TheFakeGeek

TheFakeGeek — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:40:18 +0000

Printed manuals no longer exist for two reasons:

1) To save some money.
2) Most people don’t read the manual. EVER.

The OS you get on a new computer is bought by Dell in large volumes. That’s how they get their discounts. They also load up your new PC with bloatware software they they get a commission off of.

By: Patrick Stephens

Patrick Stephens — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:18:12 +0000

Thanks Rich. I’m looking to buy a license of Windows 7 online when it becomes available to the public. Thanks for the comments back.

By: Rich Menga

Rich Menga — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:15:10 +0000

Printed manuals don’t require backing up.

By: Rich Menga

Rich Menga — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:13:59 +0000

In the way I bought Windows XP I bought license-only (that’s what I needed) and they shipped out a disc of the OS. Microsoft does ship a disc for a purchased license. Don’t know about Apple.

By: Jughead

Jughead — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:55:37 +0000

I have one reason to want a printed manual. My wife is disabled and we spend way too much time in doctors offices. I take a users guide/manual along to read while we wait and wait and wait, first in the waiting room and then in the examining room. Even a dry manual is better than a two or three year old magazine for a subject that doesn’t interest me in the least. Besides, you might be surprised what you learn when you RTFM once. I have to agree though, that most of the manuals are worthless and a waste of time.

By: Doctor Gonzo

Doctor Gonzo — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:13:09 +0000

Why would anybody want a printed manual? As the old saying goes, you can’t grep dead trees. Plus, printed manuals take up space. I’d much rather have a folder on my computer for manuals that I can do a text search on, if I care about the manual at all.

By: Patrick Stephens

Patrick Stephens — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:41:08 +0000

Good article Rich. Some great points about boxed vs unboxed software. I do have one question. I like to re-install my OS every so often (6 months to a year). When you buy an OS as a download and not boxed do you still get the DVD to be able to do the re-install? Or is it an ISO file that you download and burn to a DVD yourself kind of like the Windows 7 Beta? Just curious.

Thanks.