Slashdot Mirror
Exchange Rates Spell High Prices for Windows 7 In the EU
CWmike writes "European customers will pay up to twice as much for Windows 7 compared with US users, even though the new operating system will ship without a browser in Europe. Some of the money Microsoft stands to make on the European editions of Windows 7 comes from the weak dollar. Last week, for instance, the dollar fell against the euro the most in a month, hitting $1.41 per euro. For example, Windows 7 Professional, the key retail edition for businesses, will sport a price tag of 285 euros, or $400.60, and £189.99, or $313.84, at Saturday's exchange rate. In other words, EU customers will pay twice the $199.99 U.S. price; U.K. buyers will pay 57% more. And depending on your view on bundling IE, Europe's customers will be paying more for less, with Microsoft's decision to yank IE8 from Windows 7 in an effort to head off EU antitrust regulators, who may still force the company to take more drastic measures."
I won't buy it, then.
Really, fuck US products. I don't need your music, software, cars, or internet.
In fact, that includes Slas[NO CARRIER]
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
In Australia, the price of Windows 7 is AU$200. The US equivalent is AU$60.
You do the math.
Yes, this is a big "f*** you" from Redmond.
AC
I've never ever bought a retail copy of windows. I've only met one person who actually has. Stop wasting our time and quote the OEM prices, because thats what everyone buys.
If the Euro has more buying power than the dollar (lets say it's double for ease of math), wouldn't the price of something be $10 in the US and €5 in Europe?
For some reason, pretty much everything in technology is assumed 1€=1$... at least ever since the dollar is weak. Poor Britons have it worse, because they often get 1£=1$
Try buying Apple hardware here... That hurts.... Smallest MacBook? 945€ In the US 999$ (which translates to 712€ at current rates)
... albeit some simple assembly required. With IE 8 separated it can be still easily added ... on the other hand, you could also think about not having to pay for bloatware. Alas, the increased costs here in Europe for Win7 will make even more companies think about the future upgrade path: it might not be Windows anymore.
It goes to show how far the market for personal computer operating systems is owned by one firm. It is amazingly hard to sell commodity software yet Microsoft manage to do it, at the prices it chooses, because it has no effective competition. Admirable, if slightly freaky (it makes me think of someone selling 128MB memory cards for a premium).
Interestingly enough, when the dollar was strong against the Euro (e.g. 1 Euro = 0.8 US$), we did not have the reverse effect. At that time in Europe, Prices of goods from the US were just increased.
That is the way that it is. The only way to get around this is to have something like DVDs with different regions... and please please, lets not go there! Exchange rates are a fact of life for most of us. In New Zealand you wait for the NZD to get strong and buy from amazon... When it is weak, you put some in savings (waiting for the next strong time). Listen, the USD could get weak (and some have forecast as much), then you get Win7 on the cheap in the UK. Do the free upgrade or wait for the USD to weaken... makes for an interesting exec meeting I am sure... - StupidPeopleTrick
Pretty much the entire rest of the world got fucked over with Vista pricing too.. Here's how Gates weasel'd out of it @1:08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmd93lWbOsw
People actually pay for Windows?
Wow.
Microsoft actually wants me to leech this off of BitTorrent. There's no other explanation.
Well, wouldn't want to disappoint them, no? I was pretty surprised at how little I hate Windows 7. I was actually thinking of buying. But it seems my perfect track record of never paying for Windows will remain perfect.
I mean, think about it. You can get new machines for what? 500 Euros? Do they really think that a, almost, 60% bonus for the OS will fly? I realize that OEM deals will look decidedly different, but come on...
pissing off a big corporation.. Europe, get ready to pay back the massive fines microsoft was forced to pay by European legislators. Bend over and take it.
Everybody has the right to shoot himself in the leg, just don't moan when it hurts like a bitch. I wouldn't be surprised if I'll see a sudden rise in Windows' piracy rate or, even better, see more people switch to Ubuntu.
right...
There are other options these days.
$199 + ~$20 shipping + 17-23% VAT - a single imported windows seven pro would be no more than $270, or 192 euro. You save 97 euro or $135 PER licence.
let's say your company has 100 PCs...
It looks like M$ makes users get the non-EU windows 7 by making it cheaper - what do you think will the companies selling PCs with "Free windows" do?
So you buy Windows 7 ...
or.......
You could use Linux and spend the money you save on a a netbook.
Except.... Often US companies do not ship technology related stuff (software and hardware) to Europe. Plus, upon importing you get to pay a hefty import tax (last time, I did buy something larger it was 33%... Urks!)
Usually the conversion rate is 1 USD is 1 Euro. For example, look at the prices for video games. A $60 game consts 60 euros. Even Valve applies this conversion rate in Steam, and Apple for their store. It's extra income for the company. And most customers don't mind that much.
Of course there are some companies that want even more, for example the Rockband game in europe was 250% the price compared to the US retail price. EA said this was due to higher shipping rates (it's not like the other plasic toys from China cost that much).
But I guess that Microsoft went the same way (or as a retaliation to the fines they got), because they don't even do the $1=1 euro conversion. I bet they Blame it on localization. I'm sure that costs 85 euro per copy.
There's a fair chance this will hurt MS, because their TCO just went up a lot.
It costs twice as much in Europe as in the USA.
Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
It will be 400$ for Europeans cause somehow they have to pay for the huge fines that EU has charged them.
Just like printing it!
That'll be 699 Euros, or $985.59... Cough it up, you deadbeats! We're not dead yet.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
But what about customs fees? They usually exceed VAT a lot, due to protectionism. And will a US copy of Windows activate from a European IP address / European phone call?
Actually, the higher price is probably also due to I18N translation costs, though that is certainly not the only reason. The main reason is IMHO simply higher purchasing power in the EU, compared to the US. Even within the EU, consumer prices are usually higher in Germany than in Spain. But compared to the purchasing power in those countries, it is more or less the same.
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
If you don't like the price, then don't buy it.
Don't pirate it either. Use something else.
But don't pirate it. If you do, you're doing what Microsoft considers "the next best thing" - ignoring alternatives. Alternatives scare the piss out of Microsoft. Back when Microsoft didn't have a stranglehold on the market, people were happy enough pirating 95 and 98, while ignoring things like BeOS and OS/2 (both competitively priced and more powerful) and it suited Microsoft and Bill Gates just fine.^1 Both OS/2 and BeOS are gone from the market because of piracy's market distortion.
Hopefully Windows 7 will come with an even more strict WGA and OGA to extract more pain from consumers. Maybe they'll wake up.
--
BMO
1. Of course, Microsoft executives prefer that people buy, but theft can build market share more quickly, as company co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates acknowledged in an unguarded moment in 1998.
"Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though," Gates told an audience at the University of Washington. "And as long as they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade." http://articles.latimes.com/2006/apr/09/business/fi-micropiracy9
I know this is slightly offtopic, but who else noticed that it reads "WIndows 7" instead of "Windows 7" in the headline? (At the time I am writing this)
I want to know this because I suspect I might have a superpower.
If it costs $300 then why is the price in Euros not $300?
Do they have to pay the travel agent their conversion fee each sale?
If they said that the price was going to be 200Euros (if that were $300) but now because of the exchange rate it would have to be 250Euros (if that were the rate for $300) then I could understand.
But claiming exchange rate on a good when using the same currency is DUMB.
And people are swallowing this shit???
Well, so ones that do will earn more. How long do you think it will take:
a) US based companies to realise that there is some decent money to be made selling windows 7 to EU customers
b) EU based companies figure out it's better to cut the middle man, buy windows 7 wholesale in US, import it and sell to their customers
Also there is no import duty for all personal imports of value up to 150 euro (so all windows seven oem, most retail), and AFAIK there is no import duty on software at all (or it's very low: 3-5% - adding an extra 5-10 bucks).
Software and videogames are generally toll free if you import to Europe, which means that Etylowy is correct in his calculations.
The EU as an entity has a yearly budget of around 140 billion Euros (~$200 billion) and that's not counting any of the individual states. I hardly think that a couple of hundred million from Microsoft is going to make such a huge impact financially that the EU is picking on them as a money-making exercise.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Any customer in the EU is free to purchase from UK retailers.
If Microsoft tries to prevent this they could be fined by the comission. (Happend before to VW and others.)
Actually, the higher price is probably also due to I18N translation costs, though that is certainly not the only reason.
Bollocks is it.
The only change they make for the UK is the date format and default currency symbol. Hell, even when you tell Windows that you're in the UK it still defaults to a US timezone and keyboard.
Well, oddly enough, this still isn't happening and the dollar has been weak for ages. Why isn't this already the default modus operandi?
I didn't know that there was only a low (or none) tax on software. The case were I did get taxed horribly, it was indeed hardware and not software. (And indeed it was 150++€)
I'm starting to like this financial crisis-thingy.
It drives up the price on Windows, it flushes out a lot of bad bank-decisions along with their inventors, it pummels the prices on housing (I'm renting my appartment, so nice market for me now), it makes people switch to Linux because it's free.
Really, it should be called "Financial Happy Times" or something.
If you quote this signature there'll be 72 copies of Windows ME waiting for you in Heaven.
If the euro price has already been established as ân*, the USD can fall to 5 bucks a euro if it wants; it doesn't make it any more expensive to buy in Europe except in people's imagination. :shrug:
Americans are still paying the same price; Europeans are still paying the same price. The exchange rate goes down and Microsoft makes a windfall. Lucky Microsoft.
*NOTE: "â" is slashdot's lame interpretation of the euro symbol.
No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
Well, first of all most of the personal imports would be games and that's no longer smart choise:
- can't be done for console games - NTSC vs PAL
- isn't that much of a deal - even if you save 30$ on a purchase (a max on PC titles) that would only cover more expensive shipping and tax at best
Of course there are companies that import games from US and Asia and offer them at roughly 60-80% of the local retail price.
Can they still get IE8 for free, or will Internet Explorer cost money if you have Windows 7?
If there are significant customs and shipping fees, wouldn't they just manufacture and package the EU editions in the EU?
I import my games from the UK. Sure, I pay more, but at least I get the damned things in English. (That said, I buy perhaps one game a year, at best)
Has the exchange rates for souls recently changed? How about shirts?
... and on top of that, many people in non-English speaking countries still want their software in English. You often pay a premium for that.... I wish I were kidding.
European customers will pay up to twice as much for Windows 7 compared with US users, even though the new operating system will ship without a browser in Europe.
No IE? Surely you mean "because"? :)
If Microsoft strat gouging customers in various parts of the world, they really shouldn't be surprised if one of two^H^H^Hthree things happen:
People don't buy their new products - and make do with older versions
People find alternatives that are cheaper
People obtain the product from unauthorised sources - i.e. piracy
Now, operating systems development is basically a sunk cost. You pay for all the work (well, apart from the small proportion of making disks, boxes and support) up front, before you ever get to ship anything. After that, your product succeeds or fails on how much of that development cost you can recoup through sales. By screwing over customers, they're merely reducing the potential for sales - unless they're arrogant / stupid enough to assume no-one has an alternative supply.
One possibility is that europeans are being punished for the huge fines imposed on MS for their illegal (allegedly) business practices. Either they're particularly slow learners, or think they have some god-given right to do whatever the hell they like. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the EU courts went even further on the basis of this blatant protectionist attitude. Maybe this time they'll learn.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
At twice the price, why can't you just purchase a US edition? They all have the same language packs available.
What a fudster that guy is. They guy is talking about international money exchange rates... ok fine. Then comparing, based on the exchange rates when he wrote the article, the differences some countries would pay in relation to the US. Ok, fine, good. But the guy blows his whole credibility by later inserting the EU directive to Microsoft's Explorer removal, and that some how is a factor in the cost differences. Bullshit. They guy is just using the exchange rates as FUD... he is mixing apples and oranges. Unless his real intent is to wake up you virus riddled, trojan-ned infested zombified Window users to dump that OS and use something more secure.
My karma is not a Chameleon.
I have a cheaper solution anyway, buy a vista ultimate retail box for 140euros, and since it is done after the 26june, ask for a 'free' seven upgrade on their website.
There; full seven version for a low price (will not last too long I guess)
custom fees? What are those? Seriously, I import a lot from various countries which include the US to the EU. I've also imported from the EU to the US. I have never in my life paid customs fees. Nobody buying Windows from the US will be paying customs either unless they buy a massive shipment of 300 copies or so.
It was more like sligtly over a billion euro last time, so 0.7% of the budget. I can't see why they shouldn't make it double this time.
If they think it's not enough pick a fight with M$, as if the pricing wasn't enough, then there is something wrong with it.
This is no recent phenomenon. This has been the case for us in the UK as long as I can remember.
...really, the only reason 'IT' companies get away with it is... because we let them. Adobe nearly stated as much. See:
http://www.amanwithapencil.com/adobe.html
See also the 'spin' page for very common arguments (read: excuses) for why pricing in the EU (and other countries) is higher, along with debunking statements:
http://www.amanwithapencil.com/adobe_spin.html
I do have to admit that Adobe has since then adjusted pricing a bit more favorably... .. all non-parallel because their store gets confused when you are trying to see pricing for products in 2 different tabs.) ...but it's still a pretty good chunk above the U.S. pricing.
I don't have current numbers, only from half a year ago; no good, and comparing their store prices takes a good 2 hours just to navigate, make sure you select the correct product (English language), etc.
Well, if Exchange rates are the reason for the high price, why don't people purchase the thing without Exchange? It was a silly program anyway.
Ask me about repetitive DNA
Microsoft better reconsider pricing in Europe or it is bound to lose its market to Linux and maybe even Apple.
GENERATION 25: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
Why not buy Windows 7 Home Basic from an "emerging market"? At emerging market prices, of course. Or possibly Windows 7 Starter.
"European customers will pay up to twice as much for Windows 7 compared with US users, even though the new operating system will ship without a browser in Europe. ... but ... but ... they are rid of IE for good! So stop whinging you people. Them Europeans are getting a sweet deal me thinks!
Well duh, only twice the money
Wait.. Are microsoft's european distributors paying the same import duties, too? Maybe it's not microsoft that's creating the problem here...
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Because you wouldn't be getting Microsoft support... oh wait!
Seriously, how can people pay that much money for a product without warranty, without customer support and from a company without soul? Why do people like to be treated like criminals when buying a product, i.e.
Warranty Voids if you open the envelope where the DVD comes in. How can I decide if I like it or not? I mean, you can even return 50' plasma and not a copy of Vista?
And don't give me that shit about piracy, not every one is criminal you know.
Adobe products are ridiculously overpriced in the EU. If you can work with the American English version, order your copy from the US. Microsoft can ask any price they want for their operating system. It's not like people are going to use something else. Apple's products aren't exactly available at bargain prices either.
M$ is OK but M€ (that's an EURO symbol) has a problem displaying on slashdot
The day I installed Ubuntu on my mum's computer (Hello Mum!) and then she proceeded to send emails, download a few images and do some searches, I knew Linux had reached maturity.
Linux may lack the marketing that both Microsoft and Apple have, but the word is spreading.
For example here in hte UK, for the first time I saw a Linux magazine in a local supermarket news stand (Sainsburys). Yeah, the same kind of place that sells TV magazines, PCWorld, MacWorld and all what would be considered broad hobbyist and popular interest publications. That is telling me that people actually risking money in the publishing business have identified a need, irrespective of Open Source politics.
At the same time a major local retailer (WH Smith) is now regularly stacking between 2 and 3 Linux magazines (Linux Format, Linux Magazine and/or Linux User) against normally only one OSX magazine.
So people actually doing business have detected that there is a swell of interest in Linux, that says more than anything Netcraft would report.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I am Spanish speaker, I have always prefered English localizations.
The reason is simple: one has to learn all the English lingo anyway, otherwise people like you and me would have to learn each other's language (Das passt nicht! )
I always felt at a disadvantage until I was able to use English in a regular manner.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
That's a lot easier when you're on the same side of the Atlantic as Boston. I'm not strong enough to throw a computer across an ocean.
If Windows 7 + IE = âX
Knowing that IE = â0
then Windows 7 = âX
which means you would be paying the same for less (if you believe that not having IE is to have "less", which I don't).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
And they certainly won't be collecting in $$$
now where's that little e-thingy we pay with on my keyboard???
That used to annoy the crap out of me too. It's trivially easy to ask the user where they are and pick sensible defaults for all the rest of the questions, including keyboards etc.
However, as I've switched to a mac I find that in Windows I *should* use the US keyboard layout. Go figure... maybe Microsoft likes UK based Mac users?
US IT companies have almost always just changed the $ sign to a £ sign when they sell software here in the UK and made noises about "localisation costs" and "compliance costs"
Just business as usual, screwing as much profit out of the consumer as possible.
So if all those future users would invest 50 Euros in ReactOS, they could get a more compatible OS for less money and no stupid restrictions.
I wonder, what is there to stop me from getting a US-based friend to mail me a boxed US version of Windows 7?
Are there any restrictions against me installing the US version (bought for the US price) on a computer in Europe?
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
Very good question.... However, Microsoft has European offices. I guess that any Europe-based distributor needs to buy the licenses from the Europe HQ of Microsoft.
Windows pricing is exactly opposite as you describe, so you just reinforced the original posters point.
Simple:
How do you think they'll make pay the EU for the fines? By making windows more expensive!
Occam's razor does apply here.
Easy peasy.
Cheers,
If you have a PS3 then you can import a PS3 game from anywhere since no PS3 game is region locked. Some Xbox360 games are also not region locked although it does pay to check and like the PS3 if you have a High Definition TV (rather pointless if you only had a SDTV) then there is no issue displaying the game. In addition most modern TV's can easily display PAL and NTSC be they HDTV's or SDTV's.
You have pointed out one of the biggest issues of importing, the shipping cost. If you are going to import then you need to take the shipping and import tax (if applicable) into account. Some agents do actually provide fee shipping for purchases over a certain amount so a little research is required.
Getting back on topic if you are going to import Windows 7 from the US to the UK or Europe then you will have to be careful of the shipping cost and possible import tax. Of course if you have a friend or even yourself that visits the US then import tax may not be an issue.
There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
I'm guessing they are looking at it two fold. First, if they can't force you to use their browser, they will make money off of it. Second, since they had to work to rip the browser out, they are going to make someone pay for that work. After all. Nobody works for free right?
I know it's "normal practice" to do this sort of thing with IT purchases, but I do love it. It just means that MS, whether they need to or not, are slowly pricing themselves out of the market.
As it is, I don't know of a single person who *buys* Microsoft Office / Windows. It either comes with their (over-priced) PC, they get the "Student/Teacher" edition (I work in schools), or they run in horror at the price for a boxed copy (and I refer them to OpenOffice or other OS). As people tighten their belts, new PC purchases are less and less common, spending limits are coming down (both in business and with consumers), and people are much less willing to buy things that are getting more and more expensive for no clear reason.
In the last six months, I've been told (by Microsoft themselves, no less) that Windows XP is basically unpurchaseable in bulk any more without signing up to annual contracts (not going to happen), that Windows Vista requires upgrades to almost every PC on my networks and provides little benefit at all, that Windows 7 is just the same, that Internet Explorer won't necessarily be included (I'm in the EU) and I'll have a choice to install alternate browsers (which makes my "Firefox on the desktop" policy even easier to justify) and now that Windows 7 is going to be more expensive than necessary. If ever there was a time to push for replacement of the whole damn lot, it's now.
MS has dug themselves an enormous hole. Of course people will end up buying Windows 7, but in my experience home users who have been lumbered with Vista aren't happy about it (and this is non-tech users too) and if they know the same will happen with Windows 7 they will be doing more of what they are already doing - coming to me and asking how to get "XP back".
Please, Microsoft, please... keep it up. Piss off the EU regulator some more. Hike prices, cut features in Windows 7, make it hard to buy what people want. You're doing a great job so far, just continue on the same lines. How about threatening the EU with pulling out or something, that'd be funny and useful to me.
It's a downward spiral when people who WANT to buy a product (say, XP) from you can't, and don't want your "alternative" (Vista / 7) that you suggest to them. If that was a temporary situation, it'd be normal. But Vista came and is now on the verge of going and still people can't buy what they want from you. It's fantastic. You're keeping me in work, and satisfying my own personal agenda too!
I had tons of European customers always buying computer hardware. This was in Orlando, FL and they would go on vacation with their families and buy up everything because it was half the price it was in Europe.
A UK mac keyboard doesn't have a layout like a standard UK PC keyboard. The @ symbol's in the wrong place, as is ".
This is how governments do things. They make it impossible for a private sector company to offer a good at a reasonable price through a combination of regulatory measures and taxes, and then, they say that the market has failed, and the government moves in, generally delivering a lesser product at a higher price to the taxpayer.
This is my sig.
2 or 3 linux magazines, that's more than I expected. Magazine publishers are very aware of their markets, and considering the number of magazines that make no money, this does suggest that there are more Linux users out there than I thought (unless Shuttleworth is buying them all up). Monthly sales run to 28k according to ABC figures.
Linux Format is looking for people to write articles for it, so if any geeks want to spread the word, go for it - you'll get paid too!
The US dollar is cheap, and getting cheaper. Therefor, Windows over in Europe ought to be cheaper than it would have been, not more expensive.
This is my sig.
At least in Spain is very difficult to buy a Machine without Windows pre-installed, and if you ask to remove the OS and give you the money back the look at you like if you were from Mars... I am from Mars anyway, but you know what I mean.
Dear
And OTOH those $200 billion are 1% of Gross National Income of the EU. Any fines are pocket change.
Also, how many times it has to be said that the EU primarily fines...surprise!...European companies. You just don't hear about it at all in the US.
As a personal sidenote - I wouldn't be at the least surprised if MS or Intel fines are still smaller then the amount they managed to profit due to uncompetitive practices, due to hurting the free market. Either way, now the market simply gets even.
One that hath name thou can not otter
FWIW, Linux Format has actually been available in-store at WHSmiths & larger supermarkets for almost a decade now...
So the EU tries to sue the piss outta M$, fines them, forces them to help their competitors, levys some weird tarrifs, and a loads of other crap and now they bitch that M$ is charging them more?
Wow in the EU I guess between Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, Slavic, Finnish, whatever the evil and vile Dutch overlords speak (we lubs you anyways), and Arabic, don't have a word for RETRIBUTION. :)
An old quote comes to mind from a comedian:
"Hey when I hire a dominatrix, I don't complain about getting beat up, I PAY to get beat up!"
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
Only question that I am concerning about Win7 price is M$ taxes that I pay buying notebook. I just can not get good notebook without Win installed. And it is almost impossible in Ukraine to get money back for unused Win. I do not need it at all because I am quite satisfied with Linux.
The question:
Is it easy in EU to get money back for pre-installed Windows we must buy with notebook?
I do not agree to pay $400 for thing I do not need at all!
Serious, why is the author mention anything about the Browser? It's the exchange rate that is causing the price increase not the removal of IE. Also, who the f$ck cares if the browser is removed from the OS. To bill it as "getting less" seems rather disingenuous. The browsers is the most trivial component of an OS. You can get one anywhere. Linux ships with several of them!
Jackass!
I do not worry about EU budget or MS income/loss. I do worry about my own pockets. Why I must pay additional $400 buying notebook? Bastards just force me to pay "MS taxes" for stupid disks I never use.
Did you think that Microsoft was going to allow people to be European for free? Seriously, though, I tend to think that Microsoft probably has an insiders view of what the central banks are planning. If this is the case, I suspect that the euro and the pound would probably weaken faster than the dollar in the coming months. The pricing just plans for this weakening that they already know will happen.
exchange rate is 0.783. 200AUD*0.783 USD/AUD = 157 USD.
you're getting a good deal.
Exactly. Windows should have been MUI for everyone from the start.
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
How many people NEED what's in CS4 that isn't in CS3? Because CS3 works under Wine.
If you have a new camera and you're shooting raw, you might have problems since the final update for CS3 was 4.6 back on 10/10/2008.
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=106&platform=Windows
And how well (if at all) do the various CS3 plugins work under Wine?
I think your example lacks merit, the Euro was only valued that little around the three first years of it's existence . Since that time it has never been under $1.
Furthermore the Euro is hardly the only currency in Europe even today, and I'm not talking about British Pounds. Even now my own currency is extremely solid and attractive but we pay far more than countries that use U$D or Euro.
Microeconomics can answer this question: monopolists engage in price discrimination in order to maximize their profits, predating the consumer surplus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination
The customs fee are not that high. 5% or so. But when you import, you'll have to pay import turnover tax, which is the same as VAT so it looks like the custom fee is very high.
In the GP example, the VAT is already added.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
I suggest buying from a different manufacturer if Windows adds $400 to the price of your computer. OEMs should be able to get Windows for considerably cheaper than you or I do.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Good link. Hope that new rule passes there and we can get it in the US eventually. All this expensive software should have a warranty.
Vista Ultimate (OEM) $214.99, or Vista Ultimate w/ SP1, Retail Box $294.99
Far cry from $350...
Hey don't blame the US because all software innovation comes from here. The only real competitor to Microsoft's dominance comes from Apple, who is also an American company. Sure their is Linux, but again where did the roots of Linux come from? UNIX which was created where, in the US.
So don't blame us.
You didn't get it. This is perfectly normal. Microsoft always said it would sell Win7 cheaper in third world countries, and at a higher price in developed countries.
EULA : By reading the above message, you agree that I now own your soul.
Build a trebuchet then.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
It does work the other way, you're completely right. How this got past the /. editors is beyond me.
I take any bet that I will not be allowed to buy a copy in the US and use it in Europe. International free trade my butt... Appearantly it's only a good idea when some corporation benefits, but it's a definite nono if the consumer would.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
And depending on your view on bundling IE, Europe's customers will be paying more for less, with Microsoft's decision to yank IE8 from Windows 7 in an effort to head off EU antitrust regulators, who may still force the company to take more drastic measures."/quote No matter where you stand on the IE anti-trust issue (and i believe monopolistic practices suck) getting less product and paying more for it blows chunks. I have IE 8 on both of my computers. I don't use IE8 (I use firefox) but at least I have the *OPTION* of using IE8. I feel sorry for EU folks who are not getting as much as the US folks are getting. As far as the cost, there is not much you can do about that since it is based on exchange rates and they are volitile. Typically companies sell products at about the same cost but exchange rates differ and they do so pretty heavily.
I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
Exchange Rates Spell High Prices for WIndows 7 In the EU
"Some of the money Microsoft stands to make on the European editions of Windows 7 comes from the weak dollar. Last week, for instance, the dollar fell against the euro the most in a month, hitting $1.41 per euro"
Like how, what's the relationship between the exchange rate and the cost of burning a DVD?
Devious bastards!
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
> In other words, EU customers will pay twice the $199.99 U.S. price; U.K. buyers will pay 57% more.
But the UK is part of the EU, so therefore customers in the UK will pay both "57% more" and "twice the price" at the same time!!
Duh.
Looks like the fine people of the EU get to pay off all those EU fines levied against Microsoft.
Payback is a bitch, huh?
I'm a 2000 man.
I wonder also if such regulation should not require use of open standards of communication, open file formats etc. How widely such warranty requirement should go is another issue.
What wonders me too is what impact this could have on outsourcing and off-shoring of any activity to 'cheap' countries that is so prevalent last few years - looks like good prospects for QA specialists.
Back when Microsoft didn't have a stranglehold on the market, people were happy enough pirating 95 and 98, while ignoring things like BeOS and OS/2 (both competitively priced and more powerful)
BeOS first appears on PPC Mac clones in 1996.
BeOS was ported to X86 in March 1998.
BeOS was optimized for digital media work... Through the late 1990s, BeOS managed to create a niche of followers, but the company failed... BeOS
16 MB RAM and 150 MB of hard disk storage was recommended - and more - much more - would be desirable.
The list of supported hardware was very short - and you could forget the portable or laptop PC.
BeOS Ready Systems -- Intel, BeOS Probably Compatible List -- Intel
These info pages from 1998-1999 come straight from Be itself.
There were strong, competitive, MS-DOS machines on the market before the cloning of IBM PC BIOS.
Win 3.1 anchored the franchise. Win 95 took off like a rocket.
The convenience and economy of the OEM system install solves so many problems for the user, for the manufacturer, for the retailer, the service technician, that it is no longer possible to imagine an OS gaining traction in the mass consumer market without it.
Logical fallacy. Confusing a proportion or a percentage with a scalar amount. Several hundred million Euro is a lot of money to anyone. Do you think all those $200 billion come from one monster source? No, it comes from lots of sources, probably few single sources of their money larger than these fines.
Linux may lack the marketing that both Microsoft and Apple have, but the word is spreading.
To hear the geek tell the tale, he has converted everyone within leash - within reach. But when you look at the charts - the trend line remains as flat as his Dad's putting green. Top Operating Systems Share Trends
RIP OFF!
All the sexy babes want me... to fix their PC.
"In other words, EU customers will pay twice the $199.99 U.S. price [for Windows 7 Professional]"
What? No, the US price is [url=http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-7-Professional/product/B985134B]$300[/url].
Yes, and for the price you get a crippled OS. Brilliant! We get what we deserve.
The next question is, will the EU force other OS vendors to ship (or make available through download) their OS browserless too? Somewhere in that area you'll find the demarcation line between upholding the law and hypocrisy.
Wilkommen! Get your kraut-ass back home. Is that how it works?
As a half-german, I resent your half-hearted mockery of my half-people!
It's "Iz zatt ze vai it wuhhkz?", bitte!
Slashdot is intended to be an American forum.
I think it's intended to maximize advertisement revenue, and who gives a shit who wants to come and look at the stories?
As such, Unicode is neither necessary nor desirable.
Right, because no american would want to discuss prices in pound sterling, yen or euro, right? No true american would write "turoru wa sugoi ja arimasen" in hiragana, right? ("turoru" is my best transliteration of "troll").
If it were supported, foreigners and trolls would start posting all kinds of diacritical marks and funny symbols and weird junk like that, which is not wanted.
Correction: which you don't want. I want "€" rather than "euro". I want ">" rather than "greater than". And I don't particularly like remembering HTML entity names for the characters I want to use to express my point.
If Europeans want a Unicode-friendly forum where they can use foreign currency symbols and letters with funny looking little hats overtop and whatnot, they can jolly well start their own site.
Right, because Metcalfe's law says the value of a network increases the more fragmented and small it is, right?
We don't want it here.
You don't want it here. I do. I think we're 1-1. But slashdot is not a democracy; I think the operators will go for greater advertisement revenue by including us foreigners.
Don't worry, we won't come charging at you with a hockey stick or &entity; or whatever we got.
At that rate, it'll be over $1000 in New Zealand.
I think I'm prepared to spend quite a few hours installing a cracked copy of Windows 7.
No fuckign way should ANY version of windows cost more than $100 locally - about $65 USD.
How many escape pods are there? "NONE,SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
Windows is an export. Exports cost more to the end consumer in the country being exported to.
Which is what I said and what the article complains of. What was your point again?
I don't know about the EU countries but in Canada, almost everything costs more than the US. You take the conversion rate in to account and it is still way more expensive. What amazes me is technology, like CPUs, video cards, and such. It is all more pricey by a good margin. this is pre GST/PST, by the way. I don't know the reason for it, maybe Canada charges more import duty, maybe there are higher wages along the line, maybe it is just coincidence, but shit costs more in Canada.
Could be similar for EU countries too. If things are more expensive, be silly for game companies not to do the same.
Email, search, picture downloads. The ability of an OS to run Firefox does not make it mature for mainstream.
Seriously, use a better damn example than that.
Let's do the math. Windows with IE, $200. Windows without IE, $400.
Therefore, cost of IE alone: -$200.
So that's how much IE is really worth!