Get a free PC/software! (MS court settlement)

[cprise]

I will just quote from the website:

In connection with a legal settlement, you may be eligible for a FREE PC and allowed to purchase up to $100 worth of software paid for by Microsoft®!

Microsoft was found guilty of anti-trust violations based on claims brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

snip

The $1.1 billion dollar settlement Microsoft may pay is based on the best estimate of the millions of copies of Microsoft operating systems and software products licensed for use in California for the six year period between February 18, 1995 to December 15, 2001. 


* Do I have to have receipts as proof of purchase? Are serial numbers or PID (production identification numbers) required?

No.  Receipts, Serial Numbers, PIDs, or other paper documents are NOT required for certain claims.  (The next pages of the MSfreePC Wizard will help you determine if you qualify without needing receipts, etc.)


* What products qualify?

Qualifying products include Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works Suite, Home Essentials 97 or 98.  These products qualify whether purchased individually or as part of a computer system. 

more!
http://www.msfreepc.com/

[frylock]

1. they're "giving away" 10,000 systems..

from :


Lindows.com has offered to help Californian software buyers take $1.1 billion out of Microsoft's hide. Or alternatively (or perhaps additionally), Lindows.com is mounting a blatant and shameless publicity stunt for itself on the back of Microsoft's antitrust settlement with California. 'File a claim against Microsoft and win a PC' is certainly a snappier come-on than the official claiming site though, so maybe we should let them off.

Lindows.com's more exciting version of the claiming process is available at MSfreePC.com, and goes approximately as follows. You fill in a series of forms that take you through the initial hurdles of the process, being told to go away if you didn't purchase software for use in California during the relevant period. 10,000 will get a free PC, which won't cost Microsoft a cent because it's nothing to do with Microsoft. In addition to this, the monetary value of the claim will depend on the amount of Microsoft software bought.

If you bought either just the one or six or more qualifying products, it tells you to go away and hassle the official claims processors instead. For two to five, you get vouchers for software from Lindows.com. If you make it to $100 worth of claim, for example, then you get StarOffice and LindowsOffice, LindowsCD, LindowsOS 4.0 and LindowsPlus, and for $50 you get just Lindows 4.0. All these are downloads, but you can get CDs if you pay shipping costs.

[cprise]

2. Yeah, Lindows.com was how I heard about it

I think it's a great way to draw attention to the settlement, and to help ensure people get back some of the flesh that MS extracted through its monopolies.