Microsoft Revenue Up, Tries to Hook Third World

rocketjam writes "Microsoft reported record revenue for the last quarter Thursday due to increased sales of personal computers. Analysts were impressed with the company's overall performance, however they expressed concern about the continuing drop in unearned revenue, reflecting Microsoft's difficulty in signing up customers for long-term, sustainable business contracts. The $400 million drop in unearned revenue was less than the drop in the last quarter but still exceeded many analyst's expectations. The company's continuing problem in gaining long-term contracts is generally attributed to growing security concerns among customers and company's unwillingness to go along with Microsoft's 'Software Assurance' upgrade subscription plan." Also in the news: Microsoft is donating a pile of software to the United Nations -- retail value, $1 billion; wholesale value, maybe $1 million or so -- attempting to hook the Third World on Microsoft software.

Comments

Are taxpayers donating to Microsoft?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe an accountant can answer this question:

How much does Microsoft get to declare as a tax deduction when it donates software?

For example, say Microsoft donates a CD, and that CD cost $1 to manufacture, but it contains software that normally retails for $100.

What does Microsoft get to deduct for their charitable donation? Is it $1? $50? $100?

If it is anything more that $1, then Microsoft is making a profit. In effect, money would be being transferred from other taxpayers to Microsoft.