Slashdot Mirror
Will Microsoft Subsidize WinXP For Lindows Buyers?
kinema writes "Ars Technica has an interesting little article about Microsoft's alleged "dumping" of Windows XP. It seems that Microsoft is selling XP through TigerDirect for only US$50 to customers who have purchased a Lindows computer." Note that Tiger says nothing like this on their site (No, you can't buy WinXP for $50 there); Lindows CEO Michael Robertson says (in the linked column) that "Microsoft's latest offers to TigerDirect are extremely lucrative and I wouldn't be surprised if they ultimately cave to Microsoft's pocketbook." PR ploy or reality, you decide.
Maybe we should pool our resources so we can offer a cheap version of Linux to people who buy systems with Windows XP!
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
But then it would have to give you a good experience, wouldn't it?
This product called Linux is offered for FREE for users of Windows.
Now that, my friends, is price dumping.
Did he really think by naming his product 1 letter away from his closest competitor they was just going to lie down and take it ?
hell they couldnt even make their website look original and copied Apple
If you had bought a Lindows system, why would you wanna buy XP. You've obviously made a choice not to buy windows.
Or you've decided to take advantage of billg's generosity, and get XP for $149 total, including a copy of Lindows. Dual boot on a beer budget!
Everybody buy this, I say. (And help get another money suck going, much like XBox.)
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
The next Slashdot story will be ready for rejection soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it rejected early! :-D
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
This is an frontal attack on the company and it's policies.
They hope to make it more profitable for the company to sell windows than linux, thereby killing off another competitor.
Looks like they've already suceeded: Lindow Man is "the only prehistoric person who survives in Britain"!
I really hope that RMS and ESR bought a bare bones, no-OS system from tigerdirect recently too. I'd like to see the look on the face of the lackey who got to tabulate those survey results.
(imagine voice of pimply faced kid from the Simpsons)
"uhh, what do we do if somone attached a 500 page essay to their survey?"
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Why do people always insist on insulting drug dealers by comparing them to Microsoft. Drug dealers offer real products with real choice.
My Blog
Oh, I don't know. A lot of people seem to think that Word *is* the computer. There's a guy here who tries to open EVERY file he gets from inside Word's File/Open dialog ("why can't I read this 'PDF' file? It comes up as a bunch of garbage."
However, I suppose this guy might have some legitimate need to have short looping video in his powerpoint presentations, and Openoffice will not do that.
Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
Well in terms of MS charging only 50US for an OS in contrast to the regular 299 USD is definitely price dumping.
Competition is starting to bring down the price of operating systems and all you can complain about is "price dumping".
Do you people actually stop complaining?
You need to stop kidding yourself if you think that Windows XP can adequately work as a replacement for Linux.
On the software side, Windows XP can't run a lot of Linux software, and many programs that it can run (via porting) don't always work correctly. MS Office DOES NOT work as a 100% replacement for OpenOffice. Just because you can move simple to moderately complex documents back and forth between OO and Office doesn't mean that Office can seamlessly replace OO. It's not just "weird OO features that no one ever uses" that Office can't do, it's a lot of stuff. It'll work pretty well, but it's not a complete replacement for OO by any means. Also, do you really think that you could just buy Linux software off the shelf, pop it into your Windows machine, and have it autorun, install, and work properly? Keep dreaming.
On the hardware side, unless you go and buy hardware that works in a fairly generic method (hard drives, mice, etc.) you're not going to have a lot of luck. Buy a piece of hardware that needs special drivers (webcams, video input cards, etc.) and you're going to see your chance of successfully getting Windows working with the hardware drop to zero.
So in light of all this, free seems like a deal. No money to get software and hardware to "just work" without jumping through hoops. Not a bad deal.
Not a troll, just trying to give you a reality check...
For every post, there is an equal and opposite re-post.
Maybe they'll subsidize Office XP for OpenOffice buyers? *snicker*
Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, but teach a man to phish...
Then you gotta consider all of the crashing and how much productivity is lost by using said products!
Berto
This is good practice for Microsoft to get into as they prepare to become an open-source software provider.
Instead of "Will Microsoft Subsidize WinXP For Lindows Buyers?", shouldn't the story title be:
/.?"
"Is Lindows Trying To Save A Buck On Advertising By Posting This Story On
Oops, the cats out of the bag. Mybad.
SEO Copywriter. Just Say ON