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Linux Spurs MS Price Cuts
jimb writes "Yahoo!
reports:
'What's happening is that Microsoft sales reps have been instructed to be on the lookout for any businesses that are migrating some of their machines to the Lindows OS,' Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio told NewsFactor. 'If [the sales reps] think there's a real threat of some pretty large numbers of defections to open source, they can request authorization from Microsoft higher-ups to offer steeply discounted pricing."' I wonder how many businesses will now start pondering aloud the possibility ... I'm sure OS X is on MS's mind as well.
Linux distributors announced today that prices for Linux would be 100% off, bringing the cost down from $0 to $0. "This is an amazing move in order to compete!" said one anonymous coward on Slashdot.org.
if you are one of the people in charge of switching over from MS to Linux, please contact MS and act like you're some underling concerned about it. then when the rep comes to offer you discounts, laugh in his face. just laugh and laugh.
It couldn't possibly be. Microsoft never breaks the rules, so you must have heard wrong.
I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person that I'm preaching to.
I wonder if this works if you threaten to pirate their software? Seriously... I need Visual Studio .Net... I can't find an open source alternative that meets my needs... but if I threaten to pirate, will they give me a discount???
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Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
Just enter code, "thinkingaboutlinux" at the confirm order screen to show products at up to 50% off!
Do you think Bill will give me a discount on Windows XP Pro? $80 instead of $299 would be great!
(Laugh, it's funny :-)
Microsoft is offering zero percent financing until early 2003... :
later, small fast voice in background says
Offer valid on select Licensing 6 programs geared toward small business customers.
Find a job you like and you will never work a day in your life.
We do all our R&D on Linux, and most people use Windows on their desktops. Aside from me grumbling every time someone asks me to help them with their Windows box, and other people grumbling that they have to use Linux, this is more or less okay. The other day, though, my boss started asking if we should be looking at doing "cross-platform" development, because so many people run Windows exclusively. Gulp. Since we have far more Linux machines than Windows machines right now (and developer mindshare is firmly in the Linux camp), we'd be an excellent target.
(Actually, I told my boss we were already doing cross-platform development: I could easily port everything we're running to FreeBSD, Irix, Solaris, even MacOS X. . . this is the first time I've ever heard "cross-platform" mean "make it run on Windows".)
"So, ah, (checks list) which booter are you using, Lilo?"
"Ah sure, uh and Stich, of course."
"Stich..?"
"Yes, version er 2.7 of course, very solid..."
"Right ah umm.."
That sort of Battle of the Titans could go on for hours.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Monopolies raise prices, more details at nine !
Surely this should be from the 'Economics 101' department.
"Free software as in beer, copy protection as in racket" - Telsa Gwynne
Cost cutting measures are abound at ms!
Can now only fund 3 world domination plans rather than 5.
Balmer can only use anti-persperent at a 1/3 of the conventions rather than 1/2 of them.
Ms can only afford to leak a document every other Halloween now.
Will be forced to change the name to 'Window'.
Not if they're Red Swingline Staplers ...
The Independent: Reverend Spooner Arrested in Friar Tuck Incident - ISIHAC, Historical Headlines
Yes. Microsoft will watch in horror as their marketshare falls from 96% of desktop users to 95%. Soon we'll be rid of them.
My Greasemonkey scripts for Digg &
A few decades ago, shrewd customers made sure there was always an Amdahl mug sitting somewhere in the room when IBM came to call.
Seems as if there is, at the very least, an opportunity to sell some Linux Journal subscriptions and Tux merchandise to Microsoft shops, if for no other reason than to have strategically visible when Microsoft comes around to negotiate license terms.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Thank you all for making me the most-loved [slashdot.org] member of Slashdot (376 fans)!
Uh, you appear to be the most-hated too.
Just to correct you, 80 cents on the dollar of the price of MS windows (at the average price MS sells it at) is profit. Given that a viable economic model requires only 50%-100% profit, the actual (average) price of windows should be 30-40 cents on the dollar of what microsoft currently sells it for. Given that windows is on average 250%-333% overpriced, or 60-70% of the price of windows is the 'monopoly tax' windows users pay. MS word suffers the same problem (only worse), about average pricing. Fortunately at the OEM price point the monopoly tax is least visible (as per the legal settlement, which has nothing to do with retail pricing, but only OEM pricing), which is why white-box vendors almost always bundle software to attract customers. I can as Office XP 2k2 for $35 in added cost to a PC, but can claim that it saves the customer $450 (because over full-retail it does.) I'm building systems out of my house, I don't have a contract with microsoft anywhere, and frankly the settlement was to make sure people like me could compete with the likes of dell, at least on the price of microsoft products.
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html