No, but it is easy to pop in the OS install disk of your choice and blow away whatever crap came with the default install. (That's all this article is talking about.)
Most laptops have fine hardware, it's just that the default Windows installs come with a lot of ads to keep the price low (or more likely, the profit margin higher). Save yourself the trouble and delete the ads before they even get the chance to be executed.
Dell laptops and desktops are tricky to do this with if you're installing Windows, because -- for some dumb reason -- the Dell hardware is simply crippled without the pack of model-specific drivers installed.
On some units, you even lose ethernet, so you're not only stuck with a horrible screen resolution until you fix it, but you also have to load the drivers on via usb.
And finally: I don't know of a manufacturer right now that provides you with a real actual Windows disk when you buy your computer. You generally get instead an OEM "reinstall" disk which puts all that wonderful crap back on your system.
I really really wish Linux could get a serious hold on the consumer market.
The same reason I built my own workstation. The same reason I build servers. Because you can build better equipment and gain an intimate understanding of the system so if something goes wrong, you're more apt to fix it without a $500 fee from the manufacturer.
Yeah, but I find notebooks to be in the same category as mobile phones where you don't get anything but bulkiness in return for your time. You might get a better use for your time building your own servers and workstations.
I can't figure out how to build servers cheaper than their equivalent abmx.com counterparts -- ignoring cases where I buy an 8-bay unit and then purchase the drives separately.
In fact, to go further out on a limb: it's been a while since I've seen any computer system in the consumer market for sale and thought to myself, "I could build one like that for less". Which sucks, because it would be great if I could do that, stick my own label on them, and sell 'em.
