Windows For $3

[tg]

Still selling for $3 over it's real value but at least a move in the right direction.

http://www.playfuls.com/news_07054_Microso...ar_Windows.html

[Cresho]

them bastards!  They will provide a 3 dollar windows if the government orders the hardware.

[desertrat]

They're like crack dealers, giving out free shots to get you hooked

[xjqian]

I hate rich people take advantage of the poor and under-privileged.

[tg]

I actually think this is a very positive development since it exposes that M$ knows that Linux has become good enough - so much so that it forces them to basically start giving away for free keys to their kingdom. As long as there was perception that Linux was not there yet M$ did not have to worry about it.
The other shue to drop will be when they start giving away office and corporations start switching to open source on the front end - all this is eventually coming and is not reversible - it's not happening as fast as we all want but the final outcome is certain and it is all that matters.

[danboid]

What? They're honestly asking people to PAY $3 to use XP Starter Edition - one of the most sorry, useless, crippled, excuses of a mockery of a sham of an OS ever known to man?

I'd gladly pay them $6 to <beep> £$^^%^& a £$%$% and $$%t before setting Cresho onto 'em!  

[desertrat]

I actually think this is a very positive development since it exposes that M$ knows that Linux has become good enough - so much so that it forces them to basically start giving away for free keys to their kingdom. As long as there was perception that Linux was not there yet M$ did not have to worry about it.

The downside of M$ giving away software is that they expect payback further down the line. Much like the "giving away" of IE and the illegal methods to exclude Netscape allowed them eventually extend their evil influence into the internet - just look at the number of ignorant online banking sites that mandate the use of IE. And billy boy said, with regards to software piracy in China, something along the lines of "we're happy as long as they're pirating M$ software, we'll get them eventually" - the implication being that let them get hooked on M$ crap, when China's economy matures and their enforcement of copyright infringement becomes more stringent those using unlicensed copies will eventually have to cough up. Reportedly (and naturally) the Chinese leadership weren't happy to hear that and prompted them to explore alternatives like funding the development of Linux.

The other shue to drop will be when they start giving away office and corporations start switching to open source on the front end

Not sure I follow your argument. If M$ starts giving away M$ Office how does that give incentive to corporations to switch to opensource (eg OOo)? FWIW the evidence so far is that the majority of organisations who make a big fuss of announcing that they're planning to switch to Linux do so in order to get a big discount from M$, and M$ obliges and then say it's another "win" for M$ over Linux - the discount given is taken from their marketing budget. The organisations who are serious about using Linux mostly just do so without making a big fuss out of it.

Open standards is the best way to break M$'s stranglehold. Draconian enforcement of copyright infringement would also help, as it would force people to take a good look at why they should pay good money for mediocre crap when they could be using something better, for free.

[tg]

I actually think this is a very positive development since it exposes that M$ knows that Linux has become good enough - so much so that it forces them to basically start giving away for free keys to their kingdom. As long as there was perception that Linux was not there yet M$ did not have to worry about it.

The downside of M$ giving away software is that they expect payback further down the line. Much like the "giving away" of IE and the illegal methods to exclude Netscape allowed them eventually extend their evil influence into the internet - just look at the number of ignorant online banking sites that mandate the use of IE. And billy boy said, with regards to software piracy in China, something along the lines of "we're happy as long as they're pirating M$ software, we'll get them eventually" - the implication being that let them get hooked on M$ crap, when China's economy matures and their enforcement of copyright infringement becomes more stringent those using unlicensed copies will eventually have to cough up. Reportedly (and naturally) the Chinese leadership weren't happy to hear that and prompted them to explore alternatives like funding the development of Linux.

The other shue to drop will be when they start giving away office and corporations start switching to open source on the front end

Not sure I follow your argument. If M$ starts giving away M$ Office how does that give incentive to corporations to switch to opensource (eg OOo)? FWIW the evidence so far is that the majority of organisations who make a big fuss of announcing that they're planning to switch to Linux do so in order to get a big discount from M$, and M$ obliges and then say it's another "win" for M$ over Linux - the discount given is taken from their marketing budget. The organisations who are serious about using Linux mostly just do so without making a big fuss out of it.

Open standards is the best way to break M$'s stranglehold. Draconian enforcement of copyright infringement would also help, as it would force people to take a good look at why they should pay good money for mediocre crap when they could be using something better, for free.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=159387\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

M$ certainly "expects" payoff down the road as you correctly stated - but it does not mean this will happen again just because it did in the past (it was clear in the past that open source was not ready - at least on the front end). As Linux and open source (openoffice) have matured people have legitimate options. Especially in less developed countries where people are not tied to M$ infrastructure as much as in the developed countries. If there is not much difference in functionality and open source is "good enough" these countries will continue to move away form M$ (so lowering prices is a desperate attempt by M$ to reverse the trend - Chinese government already determined that it does not need M$ and is sending a clear message as you also pointed out. Chinese economy is booming and if they implement Linux to the extend it appears right now they will be able to dictate what type of standards people need to comply with to do business with them - it will be more open than the M$ monopoly forces on us right now). In the developed countries it will take a lot longer to decrease dependency on M$ due to complex legacy systems. But even there as the price of hardware continues to drop we are reaching a point where full price of windows + office can easily exceed 50% of the total price of a new computer. Even corporations used to waisting money will at some point not be able to look the other way and ignore this trend (it is very different to pay $200 for Windows on the new machine that itself costs $2000 as opposed to machine that costs $400). And as far as the IE argument, is it not true that Mozilla has taken market share back from IE? Also, Apple is now in at 5% market share and growing in the US so M$ has a lot of thinking to do and not many good solutions other than to try postponing the inevitable as long as possible by playing these pricing games.

[Cresho]

What? They're honestly asking people to PAY $3 to use XP Starter Edition - one of the most sorry, useless, crippled, excuses of a mockery of a sham of an OS ever known to man?

I'd gladly pay them $6 to <beep> £$^^%^& a £$%$% and $$%t before setting Cresho onto 'em! 
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I'll probably boar them to death.  HEY!  That's it!

[Cresho]

Open standards is the best way to break M$'s stranglehold. Draconian enforcement of copyright infringement would also help, as it would force people to take a good look at why they should pay good money for mediocre crap when they could be using something better, for free.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=159387\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

You are correct!  Too many sorry ass applications on the market and lots of good free apps available.  Did I say free?