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Software Price Gap Between the US and Europe
Kensai7 writes "A quick comparison between same versions of mainstream software sold in the USA and the EU markets show a big difference in the respective price tags. If you want to buy online, let's say, Adobe's Dreamweaver CS3, you'll have to pay $399 if you live in the States, but a whopping E570 (almost $900 in current exchange rates!) if you happen to buy it in Germany. Same story for Microsoft's newest products: Expression Web 2 in America costs only $299 new, but try that in Italy and they will probably ask you no less than E366 ($576!). How can such an abyssal difference be explained? I understand there are some added costs for the localized translated versions, but I also thought the Euro was supposed to be outbuying the dollar. Where's the catch?"
America is #1, Europe wants to be like America so they are willing to pay to be cool, even if it means they still look like a tool.
The "World"ness of a country has to do with its political affiliations, not the evolutionary progress of its citizens.
Not that I expect Slashbots to understand the distinction.
You're obviously a bit dim (or just massively prejudiced), so I'll take things sloooooowly.
Your friend buys the latest piece of software (direct from the manufacturer) for $100. He shows it off to you and you decide to buy it yourself. You go to the same manufacturer and he decides to sell it to you for $220.
Do you a) pay up or b) make a fuss?
If you chose (b) then congratulations! You're a hypocrite!
Considering the EU keeps shaking down Microsoft for a few billion every time they feel like it, for no legitimate reason, you can just figure that the EU's extortion money has to get passed along to the consumer.
For example, the whole "bundling" thing. They forced MS to make a version of Windows without Media Player... which nobody even wants, since there is zero consumer demand for such a thing. Not only that, but you don't see the EU telling Apple they can't ship their computers with iTunes or QuickTime, so they've created an entire subset of law which only applies to Microsoft.
You don't actually believe MS would operate at a loss in Europe, did you?
Semi-first world countries? Just goes to show how out of touch Americans really are with the rest of the world.
You must forgive us for naive view on things. We aren't used to having our internet snooped, arrested for trying to sell Nazi memorabilia, being video recorded on every street we walk/drive, having 66% of our income taken to pay for socialized medical care, giving our unemployed people "paid vacation" time and arrested for speaking out politically. From what I've seen, the concept of Freedom of Speech and Privacy have disappeared in the "first world" nations of Europe. So, yeah, we Americans are a bit out of touch with the ways ye olde worlde.
Bearded Dragon
i stopped reading your offensive drivel at the first line. go play in the road with the other children your (mental) age dumbass.
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
Europe really is a decade or two behind the US economically. It's mainly because they blew all their infrastructure up in WWII, but also because of anti-competitive protectionist legislation. "Semi-First World" may be an overstatement, but there is some truth to it.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
Americans = big picture conservative and dumb but able to buy food
Europeans = big picture liberal and smart and starving
Canadians = big picture liberal and smart and piracy and able to buy food
I love being rated down for being right!