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Is Windows Worth $45?
bgelb writes "This article from the Wall Street Journal questions whether Microsoft really innovates enough to justify the enormous amount of money (nearly 10% of the cost of every PC!) it takes from consumers each year. Hard drive and chip makers innovate constantly, but what about Microsoft?"
No.
It isn't even worth $0. I don't want it near me.
No, really, I'll get a restraining order.
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Crudely Drawn Games
'unfriendly' is such an ugly word. We prefer the term 'user-indifferent'.
I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
No, but Microsoft is worth 45 stories on Slashdot every month. That has to count for something.
No no no. Linux is most certainly "user-friendly." But it's very picky about who its friends are.
and then they should charge $1 for every patch released.....
If it was worth a dollar every time some Windows user asked me a question that made my nose spontaneously start bleeding and then followed up by saying "What do you mean you don't do Windows? I thought you were supposed to be good with computers!" (Which more or less spontaneously forces me to make THEIR nose start bleeding) Windows would cost ME a hell of a lot more than $80 or $90, and I don't even USE the goddamn thing.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Well they must be innovating at an incredible rate! Look at how fast the size of their software grows.
Every extra Gigabyte consumed on disk and megabyte allocated in memory holds useful new stuff as the OSs grow from release to release, right?
Usually I would be the first in line to bash Microsoft, as would the vast majority of the slashdot group.
That would be one craaaaazy line!
Oracle Enterprise Edition processor cost (from price sheet): $40,000
Cost of PowerDVD Deluxe: $70
One month of Cable TV programming + Cable Modem: ~$110.
Sitting working at hyour linux workstation while everyone else is panicking about viruses? Priceless.
does it matter? i'll just roll my own windows...
How's this for a kicker: the sysadmin at my current gig purchased about 10 PCs with Win XP Home Edition preloaded, and now we need to pay $179 EACH just to upgrade them from XP Home to XP Pro. (The 60+ systems were all in "Workgroup" mode, moving them to Active Directory so I can have security on the file shares. XP Home won't join a domain.)
Yes, I know there are some hacks to make XP Home join authenticate to a DC, but they're just that, hacks (and work about as well.)
Why would I want to pay for an inferior, insecure product when I can get Linux for free?
Because it runs Microsoft office?
>RAM memory is $54
RAM memory? That'd be Random Access Memory memory then, right? Just like my PIN number (Personal Identification Number number)...
At least the war on the environment is going well
The only window I know that is worth $45 is the one used to keep the snow out of my house during the winter. But seeing how I live in Florida, a $10 screen in the summer and a $5 sheet of plastic in the winter seem a better way to go.
Because it runs Microsoft office?
Why would I want to pay for that inferior, insecure product when I can get OpenOffice (which also runs on Windows) for free?
"Excuse me, did you say 'Trekker'? The word is 'Trekkie.' I should know; I created them." -- Gene Roddenberry
To paraphrase:
How much is it if I install Windows?
$45.
How much if I don't install Windows?
You can't afford it.
What?
As harddrive manufacturers add to the storage capacity of the drives MS innovates in occupying more of that space. :-)
Excellent point. By the way, I'm the copyright owner of this comment, and by reading it you agree to pay me $1000. If you think it's wrong to break copyright, then please don't read this comment, but since you already have, I'll take the full amount in $20's please.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
The term for that practice is, "Felony."
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
A little while ago I spent roughly this amount on a game called Uru. (For those living in caves, it's the latest in the Myst series.) I seem to remember paying quite a bit more for Windows, but maybe the price has come down since then. No matter.
When I'm playing Uru, I wander through a variety of odd (but usually very pretty) environments, often sitting for hours on end contemplating alien mechanisms that I don't understand. Sometimes I click on a control or two (or ten), and sometimes things start working as a result. Other times I wander for days, trying every knob and button I can find, peering suspicously behind doors, retracing paths I've been down dozens of times, and in the end I still haven't figured out how to make some odd machine power up or work properly.
Which pretty closely parallels many of my experiences trying to get Windows to do things.
So...ummm...I guess by analogy, if Uru is worth the money, then surely Windows must also be worth it. ;-)
A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.
Pirate Windows to prevent paying Microsoft tax: $0
Pay Apple tax to use software that can run on Windows: $2000
Illogic of fanboys: Priceless
-- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
In non-sequential, unmarked bills, of course.
"Give a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day.
Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
Or "Strategic Partnership".
"I am, it's Windows that isn't!"
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
I've also called Random House and Webster's. Their lawyers may want to speak to you about the usage of various of the following words:
Have a nice day.
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
Some examples are:
- Bug-laiden(R) operating system
- Chock Full O' Security Holes(R) web server
- What're Standards?(R) protocol compliance
- Buy Em' Out!(R) business practices
- Go Ahead, Hate Us(R) registration
- Assume You Want Everything DRM Protected(R) technology
- We Wallpaper Our Offices With Your Money(R)... that's it
The list goes on.Bill's Open Letter to Hobbyists about theft should always be required reading for these discussions.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
In order to provide out customers with the highest quality computing experience, we have numerous partnerships, one of which is with Microsoft. In order to minimize per-computer costs, we have brokered a deal with Microsoft so that Windows comes installed on all our deesktop systems that leave our factory.
If you wish, we can not install Microsoft Windows on your new 10,000 Optiplex systems, however we will still be paying Microsoft for Windows on those systems, and passing that cost on to you. Thus the Web Price quoted to you stands as is.
Thank you for you interest in Dell Computers. Have a nice day!
I'll take the full amount in $20's please.
What, did you get a new microwave to test out or something?
they have Entourage instead of a proper, modern Outlook
+5 funny!
(Unless you were serious)
www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance
Dear Dell,
If you don't want my huge order of 10,000 Optiplex systems, I will gladly take my business elsewhere. Apparently my previous orders of 200,000 systems over the past decade mean nothing to you. I understand.
Now you may be chuckling to yourself that I'll get the same unservice everywhere. That may be so. But I intend to find out on my own. Glad to have done business with you in the past, and I hope my future business with one of your competitors will be as fruitful.
Sincerely,
Julius Dithers.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
Good clear examples! You have the right to use your refrigerator any way you see fit, even making back up copies (which would be prudent). The only legal problem comes if you should try and distribute copies of that refrigerator. What we need is a GPL refrigerator. GNU/Frigidaire anyone?
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
There is ABSOLUTELY NO COMPETITION.
Pssst: Your posting on a website where most of the users use Linux, BSD or MacOs.
I realise Microsoft spends thousands to convence people that alterntives to Windows don't exist but you might be more effective saying that to a group of users who aren't pulling up a web browser from a bash prompt.
Licensing applies to physical CPUs. The problem is that earlier versions of Windows can't tell the difference between logical and physical CPUs. It's a technical issue, not a licensing one. You are licensed to use XP Pro on a dual HT CPU machine, even if it appears to the OS as four logical CPUs
Only two CPUs will show up, due to WinXP Pro having a 2 CPU hard license level. You need a server type Windows install to use the 4 CPUs that HT capable systems present to the OS.
Macs don't run Visio;
I've used Visio. I hate Visio. There are way better alternatives to it, including OmniGraffle. Professors would often ask how I created such pretty diagrams in Visio. It was fun to tell them I didn't use that horribly designed program.
they don't run Access;
Access sucks. There isn't anything you can do in Access that's not easier in MySQL, and MySQL is free. And if you aren't 1337 to set up MySQL yourself, there's Filemaker.
they have Entourage instead of a proper, modern Outlook;
Entourage is superior to Outlook in just about every way.
So, really, the only app that's really missing on Mac OS X is Project.
and if you're into such things, they can barely run more games than Linux can.
Will the FUD never end?!? There are thousands of games for Macs, including most of the top games out there. Just because you can't find "Jethro Shoots Stuf Withuh Gun" at Best Buy doesn't mean there's no games for Macs
I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.