Google throws bodies at OpenOffice

TalkBack 22 of 84:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

The meaning of money.

You're looking at $90 for Office and free for OpenOffice as a comparison. This would be the correct approach if both products had equal stature.

If you're looking at, say, red delicious and royal dala apples and you liked both equally, then price could be decisive.

But say you prefer red delicious apples even though royal gala are cheaper. If red delicious cost too much, you'd purchase royal gala.

It's that "too much" which brings in the acceptable cost concept. You're willing to pay more for red delicious, but not what you call an excessive amount. The acceptable cost for red delicious can be set without much regard for the cost of royal gala.


Another example is eBay.

There you're advised to bid the maximum amount you're willing to pay. That means you can accept the auction result if you lose by $2 on a $200 item.

That's a very precise identification of acceptable cost.


I'm arguing that Microsoft Office has to be too expensive, an unacceptable price, for OpenOffice to be considered.
That's not primarily a comparison between costs.

Implicit, admittedly, is the idea that people would prefer Microsoft Office, just as red delicious apples and winning the auction were considered the best outcomes in the examples.
I think you'll agree that's true in most cases.


The remarkable aspect for me is how much many companies are willing to pay for Office. The definition of an acceptable cost appears to be set with a high tolerance for spending money.


Staying within the acceptable cost bounds is a necessity for Microsoft, and the company appears to have done it well.

Posted by: Anton Philidor   Posted on: 10/31/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• Virtualization: Architectural Considerations And Other Evaluation Criteria VMware Of the many approaches to x86 systems virtualization available in the ... Download Now