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Why Microsoft could benefit from giving away Vista.

gamesecretary.com — Nine reasons Microsoft could benefit from giving away Windows Vista. Crazy or solid business plan?

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  • happbando, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34Never gonna happen. Obvious, I know, but it had to be said.
    • anthony1124, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2didn't bill gates do this before with windows 3.1? or am i imagining things? i think this is possible.
    • Madh2orat, on 10/12/2007, -29/+4hey, i have another reason for them to make it free, If they make it opensource all the people will love them because they are more like linux, and as we all know, everyone loves linux.
    • r3zonance, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15"i have another reason for them to make it free, If they make it opensource..."

      Free and open-source are two completely different things. The latter definitely would NOT happen. It would be a security nightmare for them for one.
    • sanjay, on 10/12/2007, -18/+6[@Madh2orat]
      if bill gates was that worried abt his popularity,
      he would just give 1000 bucks to everyone,quit microsoft
      and be the most popular man there ever was!!!
      hey bill if you are reading this, i want my 1000 bucks thru pay-pal :)
    • JuliusH, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Sanja said :
      "if bill gates was that worried abt his popularity,
      he would just give 1000 bucks to everyone,quit microsoft
      and be the most popular man there ever was!!!
      hey bill if you are reading this, i want my 1000 bucks thru pay-pal :)"

      Bill is giving away large amounts of money to charities. That's even better.

      More on topic, free Vista is not going to happen, because they don't need to.
    • jer2eydevil88, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Inconceivable.
    • ksgant, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13What the hell is with all these "pie in the sky" stories of giving everything away? Remember when OS/2 was about to head out into the sunset, people were writing about how they should open-source that too. John Dvorak even wrote a column about it years ago...which proves he's been insane for quite some time.

      But hey, let's just give away everything. Apple should just give away their quad-core PPC computers! That way they will corner the market and PPC will flourish! Ford should give away their cars because then everyone would have one! Everyone should just give away their time to their jobs for free, that way....um....something cool will happen. Sure, why not?

      FREE FREE FREE
    • Fosnez, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2@ksgant
      Your last name wouldn't be Marx would it?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx
    • judgeFire, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1MSFT shareholders could turn up the heat if Microsoft failed to maximize profits, most likely they would sue. Companies are expected to make money where they can and a give-away scenario might simply be too long-term.

      This kind of crap makes long-term strategy hard to implement, as shareholders tend to think in terms of current stock price only.

      J
    • CingleMolt, on 10/12/2007, -9/+5@jer2eydevil88
      You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
    • ImpactedColon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3From now on, disparaging Gates, Dvorak, and Jobs comments are automatically getting a thumbs-down from me. When will anonymous internet nerds realize that knocking down a straw man from your top-secret fritos-strewn batcave in the basement of the science building isn't going to impress the babes?
    • Justathought, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@jer2eydevil88

      Please, no more references to the Princes Bride! I mean it!
    • cazbar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2"Free and open-source are two completely different things. The latter definitely would NOT happen. It would be a security nightmare for them for one."

      It might be a security nightmare for them at first, but a lot of people use Windows. I think there would be a lot of programmers out there who would gladly send them bug fixes. It would have the potential to become the best Windows ever made.

      Of course the spaghetti code might scare most of them off....
    • scott1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@happbando
      I agree with you but it is possible because of:
      Reason #10:Microsoft realsing it's product for free would make it hard for other OS's companies(such as apple) to compete with Microsoft so Microsoft becomes an absoulte monopoloy and would make bill gates richer and there being no other choice to pay $200 to upgrade vista so you can have the secuirty neccery to advoid the mysterious compter virus that no one could of written unless you helped write the code for windows vista.
    • nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Justathought: Does anybody want a peanut?

      (let the neg-diggs begin)
  • Reliant, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Agreed. And the writer admits he has not even tried the beta. How can you comment on something you haven't seen yet?
  • starmanjones, on 10/12/2007, -25/+3i keep sayin this is what they should do. put it in the public domain and let gamers have it. it would improve. microsoft has given up on security. that the first step in giving up. they are the richest people in the world and they can't out code anybody.
    • estvir, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20they haven't given up on security, what are you talking about ? also, security isn't about being able to out code people, go educate yourself.
  • theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20Now, I don't like to cry dupe, but all these articles are better written than this lame blog post:
    http://digg.com/software/Windows_for_Free:_Has_Microsoft_Gone_Crazy_
    http://digg.com/software/MS_To_Offer_Vista_For_Free_
    http://digg.com/software/Windows_Vista_to_be_free_

    This is not a new concept or an original idea. Microsoft have indeed considered it. They were considering offering the platform free, and the extras, like glass, for an extra fee. But they decided against it.
  • kyriakos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20is everyone on digg imagining things? Vista is not out yet, and won't be for quite a while. Microsoft will spend millions in marketing once its near completion, the average consumer will once again be made to believe that vista is the best thing after the microprocessor was invented. I'm primarily a windows user apart from one web server I have running linux - what people on digg seem ignore is that OSX and Linux on the desktop hold a very small percentage of the market. Vista might not be as good as OSX or maybe as some parts of linux desktop distributions, but I am sure it will be better than all the negative hype that I've been seeing on this site. At the end of the day is it the best that gets the biggest piece of the pie? If it was so, I doubt we would be calling all mp3 players Ipod .. we would have called them iRiver or something similar and we would have been using BeOS for the past 4 years and yet we dont. So this article is complete ***** based on biased opinions - microsoft right now does not seem to have any problem with competition no matter how hard some people try to make it real.
    • koshak, on 10/12/2007, -26/+21Are you new hear? If so, you must learn the rules of digg.

      No matter how logical it is, you are NOT allowed to suggest that Microsoft is not in major trouble, or that an Apple product is only popular due to the marketing.

      Common sense is NOT allowed on digg, especially when it invovles Microsoft, Apple, Google, the RIAA/MPAA, Sony, or patents.
    • Retuobak, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3You forgot Nintendo in there Koshak :P
    • quokkapox, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4Vista is going to bomb. Here's why.

      Hardly anyone will upgrade by purchasing Vista off the shelf, unless they desperately need it to run the latest game (which seems unlikely; games will run fine on XP for years to come).

      The only people who will buy Vista are those who buy new PCs and are forced to take Vista. Their minds will be immediately blown by how quickly their machines get pwned by new exploits. They'll see Vista as a new hassle more than anything.

      And then Google will release Gubuntu or something, running on a handy lightweight wireless appliance that works almost anywhere (at least in major cities, at first).

      Sell your MSFT before it's too late.
  • dtfinch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11OEMs will get Windows as cheaply as needed to ensure that they do in fact choose Windows, but I can't imagine free retail Windows. It helps OEMs if individuals and small competitors can't build a cheaper system themselves due to inflated retail licensing. Expensive retail licensing keeps OEMs happy almost as much as cheap OEM licensing does.
  • koshak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22When you have 90% market share, you DON'T give away your product. The revenue loss FAR outweighs any potential gain from an increase in customer base.
    • swax, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19Exactly, this acticle reads like linux and apple are actual competitors. Maybe another day...
    • scotty79, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6Yeah right, they should wait until their user-base drops to 50% and then give it away for free :-)

      if they did it now they would kill Linux on desktops ... when Linux has 30% of market, it'll be to late for MS
    • JQP123, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8"... when Linux has 30% of market, it'll be to late for MS"

      Yes but all indications are that this will never happen. The Open Source community rejects the structural changes that are necessary to make it possible and allow it to happen. How many years now have we been hearing about Linux on the desktop? If it ain't happened yet, it ain't gonna happen, not without some dramatic changes.
    • pyrix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Where I work we pay over a million bucks a year just for enterprise desktop XP licensing. This doesn't include Office, servers, Exchange CALs - just the bare XP Pro. On scale of organizations we're pretty small. As you say, 90% market share would be insane to toss away. Realistically, Microsoft could charge double what they are and most of their current corporate customers would continue to pay it.

      They're a company with a huge number of stock holders. $0 vs. billions of $ . Which would you pick?
    • scotty79, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1... then Vista is a method for MS to earn last bucks before the end. You right, they shouldn't be passing on this.
  • americruzano, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Im not sure if its good business, but it would certainly get my vote
  • estacado, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Yeah great. Apple is going to use Windows and Microsoft is going to give away Windows for free. What a great world this is.
    • Angostura, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Don't forget Apple is going to Open Source OS X and let it run on vanilla PC compatibles.
    • Lobster, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Well said that Gates Fanboy . . . I agree. Bill Gates is robbing the rich (that is us 1st world types) to give to the impoverished who would rather live (some of the health efforts come to mind) than use Vista. Bill Gates is OK - even though as a penguin it is my duty to mock him and Microsofat . . .
      I hope Vista does well. I hope Linux wins and rainbows appear throughout the land. If Vista was free would I use it? I do not think so. Open source is more than just the price. I like my OS to be frisky. I use Puppy.
  • youareretarded, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5Reported as spam.

    I guess having a blog means you are smart and know how the world works.


    /end sarcasm
  • chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -5/+81. Microsoft is currently in the middle of a long struggle with Linux for control of both the server and desktop arenas.
    A: He really thinks a lot of linux. I wonder how many of the millions on Windows user know what a kernal is, so that's gonna happen anytime soon (if ever). And just think about all the people who buy software and will not understand why it does not work. 99% of computers users are stupid and don't want to know more then they need to.

    2. Microsoft could continue to require Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to pay for the software
    A: so what part of this is free? and i'm sure Dell will pass the savings on, maybe come round and fix your roof as well

    3. Microsoft could only release the lower and mid-range versions of the product for free
    A: What's the point in that.

    4. Microsoft could combat Apple successfully on the multimedia front
    A: I don't have stats on hand but I would say more people have a Media Center PC then Front row.

    5. This would not be out of line with the way Microsoft has been doing business lately with its release of the Express editions
    A: Yes but there not to a mass audience. Not everyone who uses windows uses C

    6. Microsoft has significant cash reservoirs which along with its enterprise products could carry it through the loss of inflowing cash from Vista sales.
    A: I wonder why this guy doesn't run a billion dollar corporation... ummm... "ok we want to make less money this year how can we do that"

    7. Microsoft could include more ad based products with Vista without as many complaints from consumers.
    A: They will love this. Log in and your desktop is an advert for pepsi...

    8. Microsoft could continue to increase revenue by encouraging individuals to focus on value-add products rather than the core OS
    A: So they could do what there doing now, the idea machine is working full power with this guy

    9. Microsoft has done this before on a lesser scale with Netscape
    A: Key word: lesser. It's one thing to give away a browser to gain market share but when you already have 95% of the world using windows 5% is hardle worth getting worked up about.

    -- why did this guy not do 10 things like normal people.






    • bobbobson123, on 10/12/2007, -11/+6It's spelt kernel, bitch.
    • chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2very productive. It's nice to see your trying to apply those 3rd grade skills you have to the internet.

      // wait for the snappy, "your the one with 3rd grade skills if you can't spell kernel"
    • judgeFire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3> 4. Microsoft could combat Apple successfully on the multimedia front
      > A: I don't have stats on hand but I would say more people have a Media Center PC then Front row.

      I think this emphasizes creation of multimedia. All Apple computers come with spectacular software (iLife) to get you started in making music, movies, websites and podcasts at pro level*. (96KHz audio, HD video, RAW photos are the norm in this free software suite.)

      J

      * skills available separately.
    • combatchuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's spelled spelled.
  • C0D3R, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Total BS from the article: "Microsoft is currently in the middle of a long struggle with Linux for control of both the server and desktop..." A struggle implies significant expended effort or strenuous or labored activity. Neither have been true on Microsoft's side of the OS war.
  • destraynor, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11What 100 idiots gave this 100 digs?
    The article is pants, it reads like the coffee shop musings of 15 year old who just saw slashdot for the first time.

    Here is a counter argument
    "Why Ubuntu could benefit from charging for its distro?"
    1) They'd have money to employ people to work full time on the product
    2) They could use the money to improve the marketing of the product
    3) They could donate Ubuntu machines to colleges around the world, ensuring the next generation all know about Linux, and are used to using it as a desktop
    4) They could make really cool adverts, and pay for product placement in popular television shows and films
    5) If they start charging, it means they are competing with Micro$oft properly, as the customer has to make a financial decisions between the two
    blah blah blah

    (None of the above are real opinions, but they represent as much thought as went into the posted article.)
    • jer2eydevil88, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6This article represents a dire need for a -Digg button so we can remove points that idiots have added.
    • youareretarded, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've asked for that many times!
  • bazac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Even if Microsoft did decide to commit financial suicide and give away one of its biggest revenue generating products, the DoJ would have a fit, and have Gates back in court for anti-competitive behaviour before Vista had time to boot on his PC.
  • Slipdisc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1no way jose.

    Now if only auto makers and land developers/home builders would use this idea....
  • shriek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0MS have all the reasons to at least give away the starter edition of vista... given that users can easily upgrade from their internet connected computers...

    In fact I'm really waiting for the announcement... you see, if MS announced today that Vista starter will be free, who would by a copy of XP today?!
  • ascheinberg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Already been done.

    http://osnews.com/story.php?news_id=11913 posted 2005-09-19
  • SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This seems about as likely as Apple making OS X open source.
  • v4m21, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1If apple make their things free, then microsoft might jump in the same pit.
  • PBoiIceBerg, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2One things for sure. If it was made free people might actually be able to run it, since they could use the money normally spent on the OS to upgrade their computers.
  • dwhitbeck, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Microsoft will essentially be giving away millions of copies of Vista anyway in the form of piracy. Piracy for Microsoft is an investment. Steal now, pay later.
  • kapowaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I was going to post this on the blog itself, but it appears that commenting there is broken. For what it's worth, here is what I wrote.
    --
    It saddens me that an article with such a tenuous basis in sound business sense has been dug and thus has received widespread attention when really (with the greatest respect) it oughtn't have been. To answer your question, it's quite simple; it's a ridiculous fantasy.

    I'll sidestep the peculiar notion that Microsoft is engaged in any kind of 'struggle' for the desktop with Linux, and instead focus on the simple business case: Microsoft makes a lot of money from Windows. In fact, it makes so much money from it, that it's actually the main reason it has invested around 5 years of development time and millions (if not billions) of dollars in a new Windows OS. It's also the reason why it is trying to break with the tradition of full backwards-compatibility (in certain areas; .NET for instance). Essentially, Microsoft wants the whole world to buy its new OS, and in so doing, get (however many hundred million computers there are in the world) times an average license fee of perhaps a couple of hundred dollars. That's quite a lot of money, you know.

    The idea that OEMs would be quite happy to pay Microsoft when consumers can get something for free is reverse logic; usually OEMs get volume discounts (or literally gratis) for distributing software packages which then become part of the overall price the consumer pays. Reversing this makes no sense for the OEM, and so they are extremely unlikely to play ball.

    The comparison with Netscape is also quite flawed; their primary business competitor in the browser market at the time (and actually the market leader, back then) effectively made the decision for them. To draw comparisons with Linux (which is all I can assume you're doing) is flawed, as Linux isn't even close to being a market leader in the desktop market (and this, I'm afraid, is the one that counts; the server market is decided by vastly different economies of scale).

    It is interesting to speculate on future pricing models for commercial software which has traditionally been very expensive, but I think if there is a business case for reducing the cost of Windows, this isn't it. Sorry.
  • clevershark, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There's absolutely no reason for Microsoft to do this. People seem quite happy to pay for the OS in order to run the apps, so why would Redmond just give up a revenue stream?
  • 4815162342, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4lol i wish someone would make 10 reasons to make Leopard free. all the macboys would bury it in 10 seconds.
  • popularme, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2don't worry, the pirates will do it anyway. YAAAAAR!!!
  • mangledspine, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3*sigh*.

    1. Complete your train of thought. If Linux has a lower perceived TCO, so what? What would Microsoft be able to do, and why do you think it would work?

    2. This won't work. Why? How many times would I, an average user, go to Dell for anything? Maybe once every five years. Considering Microsoft hasn't released an operating system on such a timely schedule, (say every 5 years?) I won't have an opportunity or a need (if Windows XP is working just fine like thousands of Windows 98 are still doing) to purchase it.

    3. I don't think this will work either. For $50-100 extra, I'll fork out the money for the full edition thank you (and keep it for a lot longer than usual to get my value and use out of it for the next 5-10 years).

    4. If this would involve using Windows Media Center, somehow with updated software for editing video etc, perhaps this might fly for people who like using Microsoft products. But, for an outlay of $3-4000, I can buy a desktop ready PC with a great operating system plus the software I need to edit videos. And it's top of the line, and easy to use. I shouldn't need a special version of any operating system unless it has more gain than another (which if you view the MS knowledgebase, user groups, or the Internet in general, you will see that people have a lot of usability issues with Media Center)

    Now, if I don't want to buy a new PC, then software will have to be reasonably priced for me to consider sticking with Microsoft and not going to Apple. I don't think Microsoft can beat packages like Adobe Premiere - do you?

    5. This isn't a reason, it's an opinion which is more in line with your previous point. So why make another bullet point? English aside, the only reason they are making Virtual Server free is to get it out there to the masses. Microsoft has reached a critical point wherein software exists out that does the majority of tasks users need, but these packages are completely free. Visual Studio? Well, if you're willing, you can use Bloodshed Dev-CPP, or or heaven forbid notepad.exe. Microsoft's compiler is already near free to use - it's the licensing under which you can use it (and also distribute your finished application) that is restrictive.

    6. What world do you live in? A corporation exists to *make money*, not to sit idly by and spend it. "Carry it through the loss", huh? Where does it stop? How does it stop? Extrapolate your thoughts. I would say unless Microsoft realizes that there are people out there who enjoy making software and want a lot of other people to use it and therefore make it free to use, modify, distribute, and even turn a profit on, there business will fail regardless of how much money they can throw at their problems.

    7. Yeah, watch how fast I block this with my 3rd party hardware or broadband router. Oh, I can't even use the new version of Windows without allowing the operating system to go out on the Internet and download new ads to make more money? I'll find another operating system, learn it, and learn to live without Microsoft (like I already do in the majority of my work). Also, you forget a lot of individuals and companies have policies AGAINST Internet access at all, and advertising content sites are one of the many blocked categories of sites in filtering software.

    8. Spybot is free, and if not, I'll gladly pay a $20-50 a year for updates (just like people do with Symantec products). Not only that, in my opinion, tlhey could be in store for another anti-trust battle (remember the whole Netscape/IE/bundling fiasco?) if they don't do this carefully.

    I already depend on Microsoft for Windows Updates, and I might argue that had Microsoft been proactive with their security/OS model etc, we wouldn't even have a need for software like AntiSpyware (which was NOT their creation, but an application they acquired from GIANT in hopes that people could finally get some piece of mind while surfing the Internet).

    If they were to innovate with their software (Windows is nothing but a carbon copy of the Apple OSs), and start looking at where their current cashflow lies, they may be able to figure out how to win this war.

    9. Let me fix this up for you: Microsoft has done this before on a lesser scale with Netscape and did so successfully, until of course they were convicted of anti-trust practices, fined, and forced to fix the problem. Let me say this again: Bundling software in a certain manner, may be anticompetitve and illegal in some cases (like in Microsoft's). This also is a continuation of the previous point and should not be included in your list of ten points.


    If you're going to argue, make it good. There are too many people on the Internet with an opinion (like me) who actually give a ***** about the world around them. Make your points clearly defined, and back your statements up. No one wants to read a stupid post about your opinions (which haven't been thought out completely); all this does (in my case anyway) is serve to tell the public at large that you want visitors to your site. Right witty comments, write useful information and hope it gets linked.

    No one likes Internet whores!

    • griz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1RE: mangledspine
      >(and keep it for a lot longer than usual to get my value and use out of it for the next 5-10 years).

      So why upgrade to Vista at all? You still must have good use for XP until at least 2010.
  • justice7, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2If MS releases Vista for free... you can bet that

    -No one will pirate the software, and will register it with microsoft
    -MS can charge for support (they do now, but would get calls even from people who may have pirated it before)
    -Much larger adoption of the new software because of its free pricing
    -Accurate indication of how many installs are out there with free registration of the product
    -Can push their own products on their own platform such as Office and Visual Studio
    -Will give people one less reason to use Linux (free)

    And in fact, it will get people talking and give MS a huge launch into marketshare once again. What they could be making money on with OS sales, is support packages. Purchasing MS support for 1-2 years etc rather than the free lisence.

    Worth a thought, MS.
    • jakeg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm pretty sure microsoft isn't sweating bullets over their desktop OS market share...
  • griz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+57. Microsoft could include more ad based products with Vista without as many complaints from consumers. For example, bundled internet, advertising on Windows startup screen.

    YES, built in the ADWARE, an excellent idea!!! Then M$ Defender will recognize Vista as ADWARE and delete itself. Now that would be an improvement.
  • csimpkins, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yeah, I'm pretty sure Microsoft doesn't need your business advice. They seem to be doing just fine on their own. heh.
    • justice7, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2doing fine yes, doing as fine as they were 10 years ago? Nope. Not even close.
  • hobbla87, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2it's technically illegal for microsoft to do this (illegal under section 2 of the Sherman Act), but since the gov't always caves into monopoly microshaft can pretty much do whatever it wants.
  • Jack9, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Look for tomorrow's wtf article,

    Why Pigs could benefit from growing wings.

    What a waste of space.
  • halik, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1That's about the dumbest thing I have yet to read on digg.
    Anyone with a half bit of sense would stop reading after

    "Microsoft is currently in the middle of a long struggle with Linux for control of both the server and desktop arenas. "

    Last i checked MSFT expanded their market share in the server world and linux-on-desktop is virtually non-existant. Whoever wrote this steaming pile of crap is delusional.
  • Guy0510, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I'm about ready to give up on digg. This community seems to think the world should be free and open source - unless it is overpriced Apple products of course. Maybe all the people championing these things should give away their products and services too so they can get a dose or reality.
    • ImpactedColon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Tip of the hat to Guy0510, I totally agree with you -- you're reading my mind.

      Wag of the finger to Guy0510 for comparatively crappy login name.
  • codyman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Not going to happen....

    But Ubuntu 6.06 is looking like a very feature full free os.... :-)
  • TubaTech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Ok....this article is lame...this is some guy with obviously no corportation business experience....

    "6. Microsoft has significant cash reservoirs which along with its enterprise products could carry it through the loss of inflowing cash from Vista sales.
    7. Microsoft could include more ad based products with Vista without as many complaints from consumers. For example, bundled internet, advertising on Windows startup screen."

    First of, a corporation has an OBLIGATION to maximize shareholder's profits....taking a substantial loss isn't good for the company and can kill it.

    Secondly, I don't care how free any program is, consumers are not going to like any advertisements.

    Third, just because Linux and OS X is competing with Windows, doesn't mean they can play price wars and offer their OS for free. That would definately lower brand equity with Windows. OS X will stay at the same price and look like the better product.

    This is the main reason why good products should NOT be free or cheap: When it comes to pricing, people percieve lower prices on a product generally to be lower quality. Its illogical yes, but its still been the truth since the dawn of time.
    • sc0ticus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree with your argument, but you're not pushing a point far enough.

      There is NO competition between Microsoft and Macintosh/Linux. Desktop market share is something absurd, like 93%. The biggest purchasers of Windows are corporations and universities. They are already willing to purchase site licenses (and were willing to do so when WinXP came out.) So what perecentage of this market is in danger of converting away from Windows? My Mom?

      Gah, this warped view of reality on Digg is getting irritating.
  • jakeg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0good idea or not, it won't happen.

    the author also seems to be a bit misguided with regards to the "threat" posed to microsoft by linux. it's a long time, if ever, that linux becomes a major player in the consumer market, at least in the US
  • samdu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Trying to convince a company with almost 90% market share to give one of their cash cows away for free is going to be a tough sell.
  • Mkizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Someone just took their first business course where everything is taught in terms of monopolies and duopolies. Ever heard of diminishing returns? Spending (losing billions in potential revenue) in an attempt to gain access to customers who likely despise your product is just stupid. Think before you speak.
  • JohnnySoftware, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They ARE giving it away. It is in beta.

    Apple is giving away Tiger (OS X 10.4) with each and every Macintosh people buy, even the really low cost ones. For people who have old Macs that are over a year old, Apple is selling them an upgrade for $129 (SRP) or $199 for a 5-computer Family (non-business only) pack.

    Red Hat is giving away Fedora 5 and charging for the Enterprise edition of Red Hat Linux.

    Actually, yeah, Vista is being given away, like Fedora and lots of other Linux distros. Except the Linux distros and Mac OS X are not in beta test.

    Question as to whether Microsoft should give away Vista is kind of a moot point at present. The blueprint of what features will be in Vista has not completely crystalized yet. The latest target ship date is almost a year away too.

    Having watched their financials for more than a few years, they seem to get a nice "bump" after issuing a new OS.

    Here are some previous quotes about free software and hobbyists from someone at Microsoft.

    http://www.digibarn.com/collections/newsletters/homebrew/V2_01/gatesletter.html
    http://blog.redherring.com/MT/archives/main/000532.html

    They are giving away _some_ low end versions of their development tools. In order for their programming tools and thus their OS to get used by students and low margin outfits, they cannot compete in that marketplace if they are charging $5,000 for what others give away for free.

    The OS market is bigger, though. There is more money at stake in the OS market. And, the fact they _are_ giving away some of their development tools shows how much they want to ensure that high 3rd party app costs do not price their systems out of the market in the future.

    The only thing is, the other vendors are giving away their *high end* development tools for free.
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