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MS Plans Low-Cost Windows for Brazil
Atryn writes "According to this C|NET article, Microsoft is planning to release its XP Starter Edition in Brazil. Could the pressure of Brazil's overtures toward Linux be forcing Microsoft Brasil to compete?"
The Brazilian government has launched an initiative called "PC Conectado" (Connected PC), via which it hopes to sell up to one million computers (each costs $300 - $400 U.S.) to lower-middle income Brazilians this year. The cost of the PCs will be partially subsidized by the government.
I wonder if MS can justify $400 million to secure 1 million Brazilian users. They might as well pay for the PCs with pre-installed Windows OS free of charge.
Is this excessive even by MS standard?
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
Features cut from the various Starter Editions have included support for multiple user accounts; networked printers; the ability to personalize desktops with multiple looks and feels for different users; and support for screen resolutions above 800 X 600 DPI (dots per inch). Starter Edition also prevents users from launching more than three applications simultaneously.>
I didn't realise the Starter Edition was so crippled. I would consider that barely useful!
If it didn't work in Asia, why would it work in Brazil?
Excuse me, I don't mean to impose, but I am the ocean
Sure, maybe, maybe some people just use Starter Edition for a while, then realize its limitations and decide to upgrade. If they can hardly afford a $300 computer, will they really be able to afford a $260 OS upgrade? Chances are, they'll talk to everyone about how they need an upgrade, until the kid from city hears about it and comes along with a CD-case full of cracked Windows CDs and installs it for $10.
$200 million to secure the *FIRST* 1 million users.
paintball
There would be no extra cost for Microsoft to sell them the full version for the same price. And they would be far more competitive with Linux if they did.
The only reason to sell a crippled version is to not undermine the market in the rich countries.
If they sell the same version for a substantially lower price MS will have a hard time explaining that difference.
I guess that this is obvious really.
But even if it is obvious, when you think about it, I believe it is enough of a smoke screen for people in rich countries to not question the prices of the full versions of Windows.
The Internet is full. Go Away!!!
In countries like Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, & Malaysia (the countries listed in the article, and I've been to three of them), you buy your software for $2 from a guy who burns CDs at the local Internet cafe. Microsoft says this is for the first time user, but it's really for the government and big corps who are actually concerned about whether they follow licensing rules. Microsoft's strategy for developing countries is to go: govt-> multi-national company->local company->middle class individual->everybody. They're still on the govt step.
Tristan Yates
Could the pressure of Brazil's overtures toward Linux be forcing Microsoft Brasil to compete?
You call a crippled OS that can only run three foreground apps at once competition? They're going to be laughed out of every government office they set foot in.
"The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
If you're a foreign government and you're running everything on MS then your entire infrastructure is being controlled by a foreign power. Doesn't matter how well MS wants to play it is already at a disadvantage in that regard.
How much would you bet that Microsoft would prefer if people got pirate versions of Windows "Less-Crippled Edition" instead of trying, say, Linux?
I know I would, if I was in their shoes.
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
You're under the impression that copying from Microsoft is immoral. (As opposed to misguided and pointless.)
Microsoft has spent more money than I'll ever have on what should be illegal, outright bribes (oh, sorry, campaign contributions) to politicians who coincidently refuse to charge them for their crimes.
The reason I wouldn't pirate their software is that I wouldn't want to polute the world with more incompatible windocs and open my computer up to every virus under the sun. I'll do everything in my power to hurt Microsoft - they're waging a war against me - wanting to lock me out of my PC, wanting to lock me out of my media, wanting to make me a criminal for trying to make something work (EULAs that they say prohibit reverse-engineering.)
The worst thing right now for the computer market are the software vendors. They're rich because they came in at the right time and have released horrible, horrible software. Maybe open source software is crappy, but if you've ever tried to install and tweak XP you'll know it's just as bad. They've got the interfaces, but god fucking forbid you want to change settings on one monitor without fucking up the other. Impossible. Change the refresh on one, watch the color depth on the other change. Change the layout, watch the refresh change. Change you network name and reboot before it takes.
All that and they're trying to make tinkering illegal to force people to use them. Evidently capitalism, you know, competing by making a better product, is too much work for the poster boys of American industry - the only way Microsoft has "innovated" (and this counts Adobe, whose latest Photoshop is the old one, with a raw importer - wow! The power of industry!) is DRM and ways of keeping paying customers from using what they buy.
Anyone who has ever admined unix boxes and MS boxes knows of what I speak. In unix your config files are text files which can be SCPed around - with military grade encryption. With windows you can supposedly push changes, but it often doesn't work and when it does you're doing it with their proprietary software and its fragile and insecure. With Windows you can (oh all thank Lord Bill for saving us from even more useless clicking) push updates from your central server, but only if you buy about a few different packages from them and the stars are aligned correctly.
And they wonder why there are windows viruses. There are windows viruses because in 2005 it doesn't have actual fucking multi-user permissions and properly seperated logins. It still can't prevent local-root exploits. Rather than fix this though, they try to lobby congress and have open source software ruled a threat to advancement (for what, being better?) and try to ban it in any publicly funded arena, despite that being exactly where people deserve to have open source - where they pay for it with their tax dollars.
No, fuck Microsoft. I'll do my part by buying a CD here and shipping it to the Asian pirates. Anything else I can do to take a bite out of their bottom line? I only ask because they're willing to piss on everyone to get richer - seems like they should welcome the "competition".
i live in a small country in northern europe, we aint exactly poor but we earn usually less money here than the european and american workers that have the same job.
most here people dont buy windows here, they use some pirate version or have chosen linux instead. cause they just can't afford to spend money on software. besides the local people here really have no respect for software as a product.
russia is right beside us, people there earn even less. bill gates in his wildest dream can't sell no windows starter edition over here (they have launched it there, but believe me, there is no progress on selling there). i wouldn't wonder if their government would use pirated versions of microsofts tools too.
brazil is somewhat on the same level of economy as russia. a big country, and no money whatsoever (at least on the hands of microsoft's target group).
if you give a brazillian a choice to buy a limited windows version, pirate a windows version or use linux, he will choose one of the two last, no doubt about it.
none is really interested in buying a limited version of windows in a country where a solid worker earns the fee of window's licence in 1-2 months.
I'd tell you the chances of this story being a dupe, but you wouldn't like it.
In Asia where MS has already launched the Starter Crap Crack-Whore Edition, most user simply wipe off starter edition and replace it with the $2.00 Pirate XP Pro.
Microsoft has received their money for XP Starter already. I doubt at that point they really care if they go and pirate XP Pro. Even if they put Linux on it, they're still paying the Microsoft tax when they buy a new PC.