Saying the stickers are there because Intel/AMD/Windows give the laptop mfgs a lower price just pushes the question one level deeper. Why in the world do Intel/AMD/MS insist on stickers that no customer wants? Just to be suer we know who is annoying us with their filthy advertising? I was at Intel in the late 70s when they first began brand advertising. The feeling was, "Everybody loves their DELL (or whoever was selling a lot of computers then) system, but nobody knows about us, who really make it work. So let's tell them!" And MS jumped on the bandwagon eventually as well. But now I doubt if you can find a nomad in the middle of the Sahara who doesn't know Intel and Windows. So stop the brand advertising already!!!