Hi Thomas, Very well said. You'd have to wonder what would happen with Aplle if Microsoft didn't exist.
Best Regards, Hayden -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Thomas Ward Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:04 PM To: Charles Rivard; Gamers Discussion list Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Windows Versions was Tomb Hunter Error Hi Charles, Believe it or not Microsoft was actually considering something like that back in 2001 just before Windows XP was released. The roomer was that with XP you would purchase the operating system and then pay a monthly or yearly subscription to the Windows update service. I don't know what changed, why they changed their plans, but before XP finally came out they went back to their previous business practice of selling you a Windows release with x years of free upgrades before you had to buy a completely new version of Windows. So as far as why Microsoft doesn't have a paid update service like they originally planned with XP I can only guess. For one thing if you are a corperation it is better to pay up front for x copies of Windows and then apply any and all free patchs and upgrades as needed rather than have some kind of subscription service and have to pay to upgrade each and every PC the business owns. That could end up costing the business more money in the long run. Another reason is as a private individual I can imagine a case where I would purchase a Windows operating system, and find out there is some critical error in the os. Now, I have to sign up for the update service pay say $99 per year just to apply the latest security and critical updates that is their fault to begin with. I wouldn't be a happy camper, and feel those upgrades should be free. However, since they have to make money somehow they would charge me for them to correct their mistakes. You could see how that could become a point of contention between customers and Microsoft. As far as your point about sales Microsoft is constantly selling their Windows software. Everytime you purchase a new PC with Windows already installed on it that company had to purchase an OEM copy of that software to install on that PC. While you don't think about it much Microsoft is always making money hand over fist inbetween major Windows releases through OEM sales, upgrade cds, replacement licenses, and of course their paid technical support services. Oh, they aren't hurting to bad financially. To give you an example how much Microsoft is making it might help to look at what I've paid Microsoft over the past ten years or so. Back in 2000 I purchased Windows Mellennium to upgrade my Windows 98 desktop to Windows Melllennium. In early 2003 that desktop broke down and I purchased a brand new desktop with XP on it. In 2005 I purchased a new laptop that also had XP on it. So right there is two copies of XP I purchased through OEM sales. Well, in 2006 or so I upgraded my desktop PC to a 2 GHZ system and had to purchase another copy of XP, because the new process or and motherboard invalidated my license. In 2007 Vista came out and I purchased Windows Vista. As it happened when I moved for some reason the motherboard failed in my desktop and i ended up having to replace it. I would have had to pay for another Vista cd, but decided against buying one and found a crack to just unlock the thing since I had just purchased it six months earlier. Well, in 2008 I purchased my new laptop that, of course, had Vista on it. So weather I wanted to or not I just gave Microsoft more money for Vista. A Windows version I have never really liked, but was stuck with it. Now, this year I have purchased Windows 7 and installed it on my desktop, my new laptop and on my wife's laptop. That's three licenses I have spent money for this year for the new Windows operating system. So Microsoft has got lots of my cash for Windows, and multiple times for the same exact version because of one reason or another. I realise my situation might be a bit unusual as I tend to upgrade more than most people, like keeping my equipment and software up to date, but still even if you consider the average person buys a new computer every three or four years they will continue poring money into Microsoft's treasure chest. That in of itself is part of the cycle we are caught in. Microsoft is the largest software manufacturer in the world. Most of the computers you buy have Windows already installed on it. Even if you intend to take it home and install something like Linux on it instead you still end up paying Microsoft for an OEM version of their software up front. The more people who buy and own Windows causes software developers to say it is not worth supporting Linux, Mac, or something else and make the lion's share of cash by developing software for the latest and greatest Windows releases. Since most developers only design software specifically for Windows it makes it less desirable to go to Linux or Mac, and thus the cycle starts all over again. HTH On 7/7/10, Charles Rivard <[email protected]> wrote: > Wouldn't Microsoft make more money if they would quit reinventing the > automobile and charge a small fee for adding spokes or tires with different > tread patterns to the wheels, improving performance, while cutting down the > expense of development? This is, for the most part, what Freedom Scientific > does with their products. While I don't mind paying for upgrades to their > existing products, I will say that I would like to see more improvement with > each upgrade than we get, but their approach is good. Build onto, or > enhance, a good solid program rather than chucking it for all new. Charge a > smaller amount for the enhancements than you would for a whole new product. > I would not pay $995 every few years for a new screen reader or an OCR > program like OpenBook, but I don't mind $75 a year for upgrades. I would > think that, as a developer, I would rather get 500 payments of $75 every > year than far fewer payments of $1,000 in that time period. A steady income > is better than an occasional bonanza.. > > --- > Shepherds are the best beasts! --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected]. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
