in my language is 'del' (with one l ) a whore...

Quoting:Dell US offers Windows-free desktops, perhaps for just a small extra charge

By Jack Schofield / Business/ PC/ Windows 06:05pm

In the US, Dell is offering Windows-free n-Series Dimension desktop PCs with prices starting at $624. The site says:

With the n Series desktop, customers have the flexibility to install an alternative operating system (such as a version of Linux), and help reduce the price of this system. In addition, the n Series desktop comes with a non-formatted hard drive ready for your custom installation.

This is a good deal for Dell because the covering note says: "Dell does not support non-Dell installed operating systems." It was the cost of installing and supporting Linux that made Dell abandon its previous efforts in this area.

Whether the Windows-free systems are cheaper is another matter. For example, if you spec two identical Dimension E521 systems with Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ processors, 1GB of memory and 320GB hard drives, the "free" system costs $789 whereas the one with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 costs $769. Yes, adding a $110 OEM version of Windows saves you $20.

I only did one comparison as it takes too long, so you may be able to find systems that are cheaper than the ones with Windows ... but probably not by much. And for good reason. The Windows version comes with a bundle of crapware that companies like Google and Symantec pay Dell to bundle. The OS-free version comes with a blank hard drive.

This could also make the n-Series models appeal to people who already have a full version of Windows: I'd certainly pay $20 (£10) extra for a PC without the crapware. However, remember that Dell won't support Windows if you install it yourself.

In passing, you can get a Mac Mini with 1GB of memory and a half-size hard drive (160GB) for $1,750 or $1,900 but with 90 days instead of 1 year's support. That's mainly because of the $699 cost of a 20in Apple screen compared with the Dell's 19in LCD. (Upgrading the Dell to a 20in widescreen costs $50 more.) Or you could cross-grade to a 20in iMac with 250GB hard drive for $1,548, which is almost twice .