[volatile]

The "qualified buyer" requirement is interesting. I understand the intent but wonder how it would work in practice. The linked blog post suggests using a program that needs to be modified and submitted to inquire. A qualifying test like that seems too easy to cheat. I imagine the modified program would quickly become available online for anyone who cares to look.

What tests could you design to verify a hackers proficiency and acknowledgement of the product's quirkiness that's practical to verify but can't easily be cheated?

Perhaps when you initiate an inquiry you could be given a unique function that makes a set of randomly generated non-destructive transformations to a string. Your task is to submit a string that will be transformed by that function into your email address. If not your email address then the output string "I will not ask Bunnie for help, I will fix problems myself and share my fixes"

[notatoad]

>but can't easily be cheated

does it really matter? the goal is just to discourage mass market consumers. if somebody wants one so badly they're willing to cheat on a test to get one, that isn't really mass market.

and isn't cheating sort of the spirit of hacking that projects like this want to encourage? if you want something, you make it happen without worrying about the "right way" to do it. nothing wrong with a bit of cheating - this is reality, not school.

[volatile]

Don't underestimate mass market consumers' readiness and ability to use a search engine. The small effort to find the answer online will not deter anyone who comes along wanting a laptop.

What I have seen called cheating by hackers are things like exceedingly clever shortcuts. Cheating by using someone else's answer in a qualification test is not in any sort of spirit of hacking that I'm familiar with.