Microsoft to expand low-cost Windows to Brazil

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I'd put that a different way

"the AMERICAN consumer ... ALLOWS Microsoft to be able to AFFORD to charge so little for Starter Windows."

I think Microsoft sells its OEM versions of Windows (i.e. the product most US consumers buy from them) for a reasonable price, what is unreasonable is the licencing strategy that has hooked corporations and the staggering 400% mark-up between OEM and retail versions of Windows.

What is also unreasonable is that it is nearly impossible for any competitor to establish themselves in the IBM compatible PC market because of Microsoft's licencing deals with OEMs. Microsoft didn't even create the market or the IBM compatible PC, they just happened to be in the right place at the right time when Compaq created the PC clone market for them.

They were again in the right place & time when they took their version of OS/2 from IBM and called it 'Windows'. I have no doubt that when IBM tried to reign in what they saw as theft of their IP, the courts gave MS considerable leeway as a kind of David versus Goliath.

Similarly when MS stole the Mac GUI (although MS's implementation sucked until Windows 2000) the courts no doubt wanted to see Apple challenged by MS (again, MS was considerably smaller than Apple at the time and Apple was ripping-off consumers big time).

Apple and IBM seem to have learned from the past, MS is still to show any real change.

Note that Microsoft continues to make record profits every year, even though everyone else in the PC industry (except Apple) is having a really tough time.

It is the power of their monopoly that ensures their survival, not the quality of their product. I love comparisons between Linux and Windows - if Windows wins, it is nearly always by a slender margin.

The giggle comes from realising that Linux doesn't come from a multi-billion dollar corporation, but a bunch of part-time coders. Sure, you can pay gobs for Red Hat or some other corporate sponsored version, but you can also get exactly the same software (albeit sans support) for $0.00.

And the slabs of UNIX high-end features that have made it into Linux probably would have got there anyway without IBMs support.

Anyhow, I make no pretensions what-so-ever about being an American 'cos I ain't!!

Posted by: Fred Fredrickson   Posted on: 04/11/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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