…I just don’t have a need for it on my computer.
I recently bought a new laptop - a bottom-end of the range Toshiba Satellite Pro A120 (it’s not so powerful, but it’s built to last) and was hoping to get a refund for the copy of Windows XP that comes pre-installed.
I really do think Windows XP and Vista are excellent operating systems for consumers - it’s just that you can do much more than both these operating systems offer using the completely free Ubuntu Linux operating system.
With Ubuntu Linux I can use all my favourite applications (Firefox, Google Earth, Picassa, Skype plus a whole bunch of techie/programming applications).
I can see funky eye-candy effects (like those on Apples OSX or Microsoft’s Vista Aero interface) as I do my everyday tasks - even though my computer has a sticker on it telling me that it’s not powerful enough to do this with Vista!
I can edit photos (Gimp), do desktop publishing (take your pick of XaraXtreme, Scribus or Inkscape), create 3D models and animations (Blender 3D). My kids can learn with great educational software (TuxPaint and GCompris).
I can even watch TV and run a full media centre at the same time (MythTV, and yes, we record Bananas in Pyjamas for the kids).
All this software is simple to install and is automatically kept up-to-date for me (Unlike Windows Updates which just update the operating system, Ubuntu’s update service updates the operating system and every piece of software that you’ve ever installed.) There is a huge community of willing helpers if I need it or commercial support for businesses!
On the contrary, the Microsoft equivalent of this setup would cost me lots of money (Vista Premium + Media Centre (?) + related software), and the license agreement for Windows XP is full of restrictions on the way I’m allowed to use it. Yep, some people will say that the Windows software is easier to use or better - and in some cases this is true - but I guess it’s whether you think the difference is worth the money. I don’t.
So I’d read a few articles about how to get a refund and diligently snapped some photos of myself unpacking the computer, rejecting the license agreement, and installing Ubuntu 
Linux instead. But I get the feeling that Toshiba don’t like giving refunds for unused copies of Windows XP (Toshiba has issued refunds in the past in Australia). As I unpacked my computer, I had to break a seal which stated:
TOSHIBA does not accept the return of [...] bundled software which [has] been removed from the PC system. Pro-rata refunds on individual PC components or bundled software, including the operating system, will not be granted.
Oh well. If I’ve already paid for the license, then I may as well make use of it. So I now run Windows XP inside a window of it’s own in Ubuntu - just in case I need to check a website in Internet Explorer (or hear that wonderful Windows login chime).
highlights the relationships between different learning areas in our lives (perhaps using distance as a measure of interconnectedness)
I don’t generally watch much tv, let alone write about it, but I was excited recently to watch episode 4 of 
The half-hour foray into Australian education highlights many interesting perspectives from people like John Marsden (who, coincidentally, opened his own school called