I'll happily buy the higher-end version and handle the Linux install myself, as long as I can remove the Windows license and get a subsequent refund from Microsoft.
But if thats not possible then I'll just wait until some other manufacturer makes a bad-ass Linux version for the same price, or less ..
With all likelyhood it comes with "Windows 8.1 with Bing", which means Intel will have paid 0$ to put it on there. There is no refund to get, and the extra cost is supposed to be justified by the extra ram and storage space.
But if thats not possible then I'll just wait until some other manufacturer makes a bad-ass Linux version for the same price, or less ..