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Linux.com | ChangeLog: Run Linux, lose warranty
Laura Breeden bought a new Compaq Presario C304NR notebook in January. She bought it because she wanted to get rid of Windows and all the malware that surrounds it and move to Linux, and her old laptop lacked the memory and power to run Ubuntu Edgy. The salespeople assured her that the C304NR was “Linux ready.” But they didnt tell her that running Linux would void her warranty.

Until recently, shes been happy with it, and with Ubuntu Edgy. But a couple of weeks ago she began having keyboard problems. The keyboard is misbehaving when she begins to type quickly: keys are sticking and the space bar does not always respond when pressed.

When she called Compaq — the unit comes with a one-year warranty on the hardware — they asked what operating system she was running. When she told them Linux, they said, “Sorry, we do not honor our hardware warranty when you run Linux.” In order to get warranty service, she was told, she would have to remove Linux and reinstall the original OS.

Laura is not a software engineer, but she failed to see how her choice of operating system could damage the keyboard. Furthermore, there isnt a word about the subject on the Compaq C304NR Web page — nothing to alert consumers to the fact that if they chose a reliable, secure operating system like Linux instead of Windows, they would lose their rights to service under warranty.

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