Compare these identical notebooks, configured with respectable specs (Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5500, 1gb single stick, 80gb, Intel Wireless, Bluetooth, 15″ XGA, 8X DVD-ROM:

Latitude™ D520N Duo (with FreeDOS): $984

Latitude™ D520 Dual Core (with Windows XP Home Edition SP2): $965

Here’s the proof: (below the cut, click “More” below)

From my experience, the crippling in XP Home is indeed less than worthless. I wouldn’t use it, even for Dell’s payment of $19. Thanks, but no thanks.

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