Scored a Linux netbook cheap

[Tom_ZeCat]

They had a bunch of netbooks at the local pawn shop. One of them was an Asus with 2 GB RAM and a 240 gig hard drive that someone had put Ubuntu on. It was originally a Windows 7 Starter PC. The hilarious thing is this netbook was marked way down because it has Ubuntu. Whoever sold it to the pawn shop could have made more money if they had put Win 7 back on it, and the pawn shop could have sold it for more if they had done so. There were Windows XP netbooks with 1 gig of RAM and tiny 40 GB drives for more money than this one. I scored it for just over 80 bucks. Ha ha! There's nothing wrong with it. It's in good condition. It just has the "wrong" operating system.

I'm not a fan of Unity, so this Ubuntu is coming off to be replaced by Kubuntu, and this is going to be turned into a jukebox PC with Amarok and all my music.

[Feathers McGraw]

Nice!

I wonder whether the shop owners were familiar with Ubuntu?

Does it have its OEM stickers on it? Of so they could have just installed win 7 from a normal disk then rung MS and complained about it not validating. IME they usually just fuss for a while and then give you a new key.

What was the price difference between it and comparable machines? About the cost of a windows licence, or more?

[GreyGeek]

Very good buy! And unusual. A recent NE Dept of Revenue surplus sale here in Lincoln had over 100 laptops, mostly DELL, for sale. They were between 6 to 10 years old. Most were D600, D620's and a couple E6410's. A D620 was on my desk when I retired in 2008. About ¼ th of them were missing or had broken parts. I was stunned when 6-10 yr old broken laptops were going for $75@. The DELL's bids started at $100 and quickly rose to $175-$200. The E6410s went for $275 and $325, IIRC. I was stunned. I had planned on picking up one for about $50.
Everyone that I asked what OS they were going to put on those laptops answered "Ubunutu!".

[Feathers McGraw]

Everyone that I asked what OS they were going to put on those laptops answered "Ubunutu!".

You corrected them all, of course

[vinnywright]

LOL ,,,,My local pawn shop allways has a laptop or 5 laying round for $100-200.00 ,,,,,,BUT refuses to take one with Ubuntu or "that linux crap" as he calls it .

I keep telling him to take them cheep (if he ever sees one agin) and I'll take them

VINNY

[GreyGeek]

You corrected them all, of course

Need you ask?

[SteveRiley]

Ubuntu or "that linux crap"

Ubuntu isn't Linux. At least that's the impression one would obtain from a visit to ubuntu.com

[Feathers McGraw]

Strange isn't it, they must have gone to quite a lot of effort to avoid saying "linux". Maybe they think it has loads of negative connotations about user friendliness etc.