What OS do most non-USA computers come with nowadays?

In article , lid says...
But the same site also sells Chromebooks, whatever those are.

Yep, they are the largest electrical retail chain in the UK and they
sell what people want, or think they want.

Six months ago my Acer Aspire Vista Home Basic running laptop bit the
dust after 7 years of faithful service.
Faithful service in this case meant replacing the HDD after a 4 years
and a cooling fan that towards the end was making the most infuriating
grumbling and groaning noises and the fact that not long after I got it
I noticed a minute speck of dust on the keyboard and in an attempt to
flick it off with a duster I managed to flick three of the key caps off
and never could get the blasted things back on properly and had to type
on little rubbery pimples for those keys:-(

Anyway; come replacement time I took a wander round my local branch of
PC world, so I could check out the screens and keyboards on the display
models. Everything came with Windows 10 and some had the option to
revert to Win8.
I've only ever used Win7 and 8 briefly when fixing computers for
others.

I eventually settled on an HP pavilion
http://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c04841625

Which I bought direct from the HP UK store and at a pretty good price.

I've got on fine with Windows 10, once I'd got used to the Start
menu/tile shambles and where to find things and settings.

There have been two big Windows updates, the first bringing a factory
fresh installation up to the then current version which wen fine and
took about an hour.
The Anniversary update took about the same time and was pain free, the
only downside was that my custom icon font had been reset to default.

I've no other real complaints about Windows 10, it does the job.

UnsteadyKen wrote:

The Anniversary update took about the same time and was pain free, the
only downside was that my custom icon font had been reset to default.

I've no other real complaints about Windows 10, it does the job.

So the AE didn't tip over your webcam ? Mine broke for
about three months or so, before it was working again.
I just put it back in the box, and didn't test it
for quite a while. I don't really think it was
fixed all that fast (the FrameServe fiasco...).

So now the Logitech software works again. Software
that Logitech doesn't ever plan on upgrading.

The very last time I tested the webcam, I got the
distinct impression the frame rate was wrong.
Too slow... I suspect a tainted observer (me) :-)

Paul

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 10:13:45 -0500, "Mayayana"
wrote:

"PAS" wrote

| I don't think I would agree that the cost of a Windows license is
| absurd. People pay hundreds of dollars for licenses for software like
| Photoshop and others.

Yes, and that's also a monopoly product with
absurd pricing. These companies are among the
most profitable in the world. Bill Gates is among
the richest. Their profits rival the likes of Exxon.
But they don't have to build and operate oil
refineries. They just write code and sell it.
Close to zero overhead.

The last company I worked for just wrote code to produce software.
They employed over 600 people in a 16 floor office block. Major
overheads!

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

On 1/29/17 8:36 PM, Ann Dunham wrote:
Roger Blake replied:

That may be true at the big-box stores but is not necessarily the case
with small local computer shops building PCs from standard parts. A
friend ran one for years and would install anything that people wanted,
or sell the hardware with no OS if the customer wanted it that way. Most
people of course wanted Windows but I know some PCs went out the door with
other options.

At the big box stores, you will never get that option.

I wonder if it's the same at European big box stores though?

In the usa, in a big box store, it's Windows or Windows.

Not technically true. :-)

Best Buy has a Mac section, and sells Chromebooks, which is based on Linux.

Microcenter stores, at least the one in Denver, Colorado, USA, has a Mac
section.

Just an FYI.

You'll never get the choice of Linux for example.
And you'll never get the choice of nothing (so you can DIY).

Is it the same in box stores in Europe?



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.11.6
Firefox 49.0.1
Thunderbird 45.7.0
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

"Ken Springer" wrote

| In the usa, in a big box store, it's Windows or Windows.
|
| Not technically true. :-)
|
| Best Buy has a Mac section, and sells Chromebooks, which is based on
Linux.
|

She addressed that in the original post, though it
wasn't entirely clear. She was really asking whether
all Windows computers have Win10.

"Stephen Wolstenholme" wrote

| The last company I worked for just wrote code to produce software.
| They employed over 600 people in a 16 floor office block. Major
| overheads!
|
I wonder if they really needed all those people.
Last I heard Microsoft was claiming $8B/year R&D
expenses. Of course that includes all the failed
things like Active Desktop, Passport, Hailstorm, Kin,
SPOT watches, Nokia, Winphones and Longhorn.
But either way, that number implies vast waste.

As I pointed out, it also depends on the product
and market. If you make software to intepret
MRI scans and only have 200 customers then
one copy will have very high overhead. If you're
trying to create or break into a new market there
will be a lot of initial cost. Elon Musk needs
billions to support his hubris, whether or not he
ever makes quality, dependable products. But
Windows is loaded onto hundreds of millions of
machines and the further development needed
is minimal. Their cost of selling a copy is minimal.
With OEM they have no further cost after that,
except for updates. Even those are limited.

Th proof is in the pudding: Microsoft are clearing
in the 10s of billions per year, and that's despite the
considerable waste from all of their failed projects.
Only monopoly pricing can account for that.

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 02:51:00 -0000, Ann Dunham wrote:

James Wilkinson Sword replied:

I can understand someone wanting no OS, or Linux, etc.
But an older inferior Windows?
What planet do you guys live on?

The spirit of the question was really about the business model of windows
being on all USA (non-Apple) computers.

It wasn't really about the exact version of Windows.

My experience buying computers at stores is that the computers come with
whatever Windows version was the "big thing" when the computer was made.

Nowadays, that's Windows 10, but the question is what do the rest of the
world use as their business model for the computers in the stores?

Windows 10 by default in the UK, unless you ask otherwise.

--
I told my wife the truth. I told her I was seeing a psychiatrist.
Then she told me the truth: that she was seeing a psychiatrist, two plumbers, and a bartender.

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 15:05:34 -0000, Paul wrote:

UnsteadyKen wrote:

The Anniversary update took about the same time and was pain free, the
only downside was that my custom icon font had been reset to default.

I've no other real complaints about Windows 10, it does the job.

So the AE didn't tip over your webcam ? Mine broke for
about three months or so, before it was working again.
I just put it back in the box, and didn't test it
for quite a while. I don't really think it was
fixed all that fast (the FrameServe fiasco...).

So now the Logitech software works again. Software
that Logitech doesn't ever plan on upgrading.

The very last time I tested the webcam, I got the
distinct impression the frame rate was wrong.
Too slow... I suspect a tainted observer (me) :-)

Time to get new hardware. Times move on.

--
Definition of Necrophilia: That Uncontrollable Urge To Crack Open A Cold One.

James Wilkinson Sword wrote:


Time to get new hardware. Times move on.

It's merely a flesh wound.

I have plenty of OSes here.
Some even work.

Paul

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:35:11 -0000, Paul wrote:

James Wilkinson Sword wrote:


Time to get new hardware. Times move on.

It's merely a flesh wound.

I have plenty of OSes here.
Some even work.

Paul

I have no problem using Windows 10. Every Windows I've used has been better than the last.

--
A man goes to the Doctor and says "Doctor I think my wife's been dead for two weeks."
"Dead for two weeks, how did you work that out?"
"Well, the sex is the same but the washing is starting to build up."

Ann Dunham wrote:
Roger Blake replied:

AFAIK Dell will still sell you a new PC with Windows 7 Pro. (It will come with
a Windows 10 Pro license and Dell downgrades the OS to Win7 at the factory.)

Buying from Dell (or online) is a bit different from buying from a computer
store. I've never bought a computer online. I only buy from stores.

Even so, it's Windows or Windows so that's teh same thing since the
question really is about the business model and not the specific version of
Windows.

In the USA, you get a computer with Windows. Period.
You don't get any other choice at a store.

If you don't want Windows, you're welcome to delete it and put on whatever
you want (say Linux). But it comes baked in with Windows (generally the
latest version at the time of manufacture).

I was just asking if the business model is the same around the world where
all the non-Apple computers in the store have Windows baked in out of the
box.

Windows is the most common, but there are other OSes also:

https://www.cyberciti.biz/hardware/l...-or-preloaded/

https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/linux-computers

https://www.walmart.com/browse/elect...230091_1103213

http://www.officedepot.com/a/browse/...ks/N=5+967600/

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/all-lapt...at244900050010



--

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves
- Edward R. Murrow

Paul on 2017/01/30 wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

If I'm building a gaming box, it's a Windows box
(due to the dearth of Linux video games)

It might all depend on whether you started with the
Linux box, and then went looking for the games.

I tend to do the opposite: see what apps, including games, that I want
to play and then see on what platform they run. Games are too short-
lived to waste an entire computer on just that criteria. While I might
build a gaming platform, that is to play the games that I want that are
available now but that same computer is used as a platform for other
apps that require that platform.

When I buy a car, it meets my criteria for how I will use a car. I
don't buy a semi and then try to use it for everything, like driving to
and from work and to go grocery shopping.

Michael Logies on 2017/01/30 wrote:

Same situation in germany. Linux is a bit more used here than in the
US.

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 00:55:59 +0000 (UTC), Ann Dunham
wrote:

Someone mentioned on the XP ng that all new non-Apple decently-powered
computers come with Windows 10 in the USA, which I concur.

Sure, tablets exist, chromebooks exist, Linux and Macs exist, but that's
not the question.

The question is related to the fact that if you go to any "computer" store
in the USA (Costco, Best Buy, Frys, whatever), and you buy a computer (not
a tablet or chromebook), you're not going to get Windows-anything-but-10 on
it by default.

I'm just asking whether that's the same situation in the rest of the world.

The OP never mentioned if he only wanted to discuss desktops used by end
users or would include all OS deployments, like those for web servers
and other enterprise-level operations. Linux still has the majority
share for web servers. The OP also did not differentiate workstation
editions from server editions of Windows. "whatever" for a computer
store includes ANY seller, including enterprise-grade hardware. There
is his view of the market based on only his criteria for a computer
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant) versus the
entire market (the entire elephant).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:O...rket_share.svg

That still only shows a portion of all operating systems. Note that
they had to magnify just the bottom 5% for a separate graph to include
Linux so you could see it rather than mashed together with all the other
low-volume OSes.

https://www.netmarketshare.com/opera...10&qpcustomd=0

Alas, clicking on "Geographic and Demographic Filter" so you could pick
a country, region, or city to see the marketshare for the OSes at that
granularity issues the statement that you must be a subscriber. Guess
they want to get paid for all that work.

http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-...46jtrtm1ntijv2

There you can click on a rather large region (e.g., Europe versus USA)
to get an idea what are the most popular OSes there. I looked at the
charts for USA, Europe, and Germany. Only for the Germany chart did
Linux manage enough marketshare to qualify its own line in the graph.
In the others, Linux got dumped into the Other category with all the
remaining OSes.

There may be stores where you can pre-order a pre-built with a different
than standard OS deployment but remember that stores are in business to
stay in business and generate a profit. They will sell hardware with
the most popular OS. For now, that is Windows and Android (not sure the
OP's "computer" excludes smartphones since those are also computers -
but then so, too, are the Raspberry Pi and Arduino).

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:40:25 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:35:11 -0000, Paul wrote:

James Wilkinson Sword wrote:


Time to get new hardware. Times move on.

It's merely a flesh wound.

I have plenty of OSes here.
Some even work.

Paul

I have no problem using Windows 10. Every Windows I've used has been better than the last.

My experience too, except for Vista which I did not like.

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 19:07:25 -0000, Scott wrote:

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:40:25 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:35:11 -0000, Paul wrote:

James Wilkinson Sword wrote:


Time to get new hardware. Times move on.

It's merely a flesh wound.

I have plenty of OSes here.
Some even work.

Paul

I have no problem using Windows 10. Every Windows I've used has been better than the last.

My experience too, except for Vista which I did not like.

I'd say Vista was one of the biggest improvements.

--
I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. It's because I hate plants.