Microsoft Won't Cut Windows Price to Beat Linux

[Mictlantecuhtli]

From Reuters:

Microsoft Won't Cut Windows Price to Beat Linux
October 09, 2002 01:24 PM ET

By Caroline Humer

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. won't cut the price on its Windows operating system to compete with a $199 personal computer that runs rival operating software, the No. 1 software company's CEO said on Wednesday.

Walmart.com, the online shopping site of the nation's largest retailer Wal-Mart Inc., has been selling a $199 personal computer -- monitor and modem not included -- that runs the Lindows operating system.

LindowsOS, from San Diego, California-based Lindows.com, is based on the Linux operating system, which is a free, open-source operating system that is increasingly being used by large corporations for back-end systems. But it has made few inroads in PCs.

The computer is made by Microtel Computer Systems and runs on a microprocessor from VIA Technologies, the Taiwan chip maker.

"Somebody is subsidizing that hardware. Somebody's losing -- people know what power supplies and processors cost," Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said at a Gartner technology conference here.

The $199 price tag is less than half the price of Windows-based PCs from low-priced vendors like Dell Computer Corp. or Gateway Inc. , which sell PCs for as little as $500 or $600. It's also below the $399 entry-level price at eMachines Inc.

Demand for personal computers has been weak for almost two years as both businesses and consumers have held back on spending. Gartner said earlier this week that a return to higher PC demand may be delayed as users make do with the PCs they already have.

Microsoft's Windows operating systems for low-end PCs costs about $50, and Ballmer said that price has been steady for at least seven years.

Cutting the price of the operating system by $20, for instance, wouldn't sell more machines, he said.

"Will that really drive a lot of demand? No. Will it wipe out our ability to do innovative work like Windows XP? That it will do," he said.

In addition, he said, it would cause "logistical nightmares" in terms of licensing for PC manufacturers, who often load the Windows operating system onto PCs before they ship them.

LindowsOS is designed to run Windows applications.

Microsoft sued Lindows.com in December of 2001 for trademark infringement, saying the name would confuse the public. Lindows.com was started early in 2001 by Michael Robertson, who founded MP3.com and later sold it to Vivendi Universal.

Microsoft had said it spent $1.2 billion over the past 18 years to market and promote Windows, which runs an estimated 90 percent of the world's personal computers, and that Lindows threatened the brand value.

Apparently they seem to think advertising is better than cutting prices. Moreover, I don't see if it's necessary to market OS's like that as most of the computers already ship with them.

 

[Vehementi]

Originally posted by Mictlantecuhtli
Apparently they seem to think advertising is better than cutting prices. Moreover, I don't see if it's necessary to market OS's like that as most of the computers already ship with them.

Advertising? Who today who uses a PC doesn't know about Windows???

$199?! This would be it.

Who would ever buy that? Ooh, 800MHz C3, 8MB GFX card. Speedy!

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Originally posted by Vehementi
Who would ever buy that? Ooh, 800MHz C3, 8MB GFX card. Speedy!

So called "common" people who just want a cheap, working computer for simple Internet surfing, e-mail, word processing, not the latest 3D games.
That is, the majority of users.

 

[JAV]

Hear, hear Mictlantecuhtli! :grinthumb Altho' I'd opt for the AMD or Intel CPU models for $100 more.

I realize this isn't the forum for it, but I notice you are running BeOS. I'm not that familiar w/it, but am interested. Could you possibly shed a little light on its operation & how well it suits your needs?

Thanks,

 

[Vehementi]

Originally posted by Mictlantecuhtli
So called "common" people who just want a cheap, working computer for simple Internet surfing, e-mail, word processing, not the latest 3D games.
That is, the majority of users.

Most people are smart enough to consult someone who knows what they're talking about before they buy a computer. And, most people who know what they're talking about would point the user in a different direction

 

[poertner_1274]

M$ biggest problem is that they are greedy. And the general public's bigget problem is that they don't know any better. They will pay as much as it costs to get something from a well known company. Linux is a good OS, just not well knows, especially to beginners. I know it is free, but if they advertised a little more for it then I think people might give it a shot and take some money away from that power hungry company.

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Originally posted by JAV
I realize this isn't the forum for it, but I notice you are running BeOS. I'm not that familiar w/it, but am interested. Could you possibly shed a little light on its operation & how well it suits your needs?

Hmm, where should I start?
It's the best OS for me, does everything I want/need, without stupid "are you sure?" and "you need to restart for this to take effect" things.
It's also fast and very responsive, handles memory very well, *I should know when to stop*
One thing it lacks is games - there are some small ones but nothing new.
Right now I'm waiting for YellowTab's release and OpenBeOS.
The problem with a small OS like this is that big companies don't make apps for BeOS because there are too few users, and there are too few users because big companies don't make apps for BeOS.

 

[Vehementi]

Originally posted by poertner_1274
M$ biggest problem is that they are greedy. And the general public's bigget problem is that they don't know any better. They will pay as much as it costs to get something from a well known company. Linux is a good OS, just not well knows, especially to beginners. I know it is free, but if they advertised a little more for it then I think people might give it a shot and take some money away from that power hungry company.

My mom just bought Windows XP Home for $94 :dead:

I offered here RH7.2 or RH8 (once it comes, thank you again deus) but she insisted upon Windows.

I completely agree. Most people at my school have no idea what Linux is. My IT teacher suggested we setup a Linux server, but noone other than another kid and I even knew what Linux was.

Entropy will claim the universe before I pay a bloated sum for bloatware as an OS.

 

[Phantasm66]

Originally posted by Vehementi
Most people are smart enough to consult someone who knows what they're talking about before they buy a computer.

No, most people are not. Most people walk into an electronics goods store and listen to the BS that's pushed their way by a sales representative who isn't technical at all. At my work there are several people who are smart enough to ask a tech for advice before spending hard earned cash, but that's people who are computing lecturers in a university. The majority of folks out there believe what salesmen tell them. Its sad but its life and its true.

 

[poertner_1274]

Originally posted by Phantasm66
No, most people are not. Most people walk into an electronics goods store and listen to the BS that's pushed their way by a sales representative who isn't technical at all. At my work there are several people who are smart enough to ask a tech for advice before spending hard earned cash, but that's people who are computing lecturers in a university. The majority of folks out there believe what salesmen tell them. Its sad but its life and its true.

CONCUR
It is unbeliveable what people believe out of someone's mouth. For people that dont' know any better an ***** working it an electronics store could say that a 42" plasma monitor is the best buy, and I bet someone will buy it. All it takes is a little questioning here and there and you are set, but NOOOOOOO, that is too hard, just gotta believe what the sales reps throw down your throat........Down with M$

 

[Vehementi]

Yep. Sad but true. Wal-Mart could easily tell people their $200 model is top of the line, and they'd believe them.

[rant]M$ flashes things around like "more stability!" "easier to use!" but it's all marketing gibberish. Windows not only allows you to shoot yourself in the foot, but it gives you an automatic weapon and some loaded clips as well. Windows is about as easy to screw up and corrupt as butter is to melt. Many Linux users I know haven't reinstalled or formatted their Linux installation in months, even years. This year alone, I had to format twice. I believe I did it twice, or even three times last year, too. It's a pity software developers are all in Micro$oft's boat, for Linux is so much easier to design and program software for than Windows. I would love to see more real games on Linux. The only reason I keep Windows is to play games. M$ should really get it's act together, stop acting like greedy little children, and come out with a respectable operating system. Until that day comes, I will not pay for any product by Microsoft.[/rant]

 

[JAV]

Mictlantecuhtli,

Thanks for the info on BeOS ! & sorry I didn't reply sooner.
Been a little busy.

'Nother quick question > if one were to have a server, which would be 'best': Linux or BeOS. That is assuming only 1 choice. Could you qualify your answer.

It is a 'catch22' on these system, isn't it. Until some developer makes a consumer demadable program for them, they seem to stagnate.

Thanks again,

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Originally posted by JAV
if one were to have a server, which would be 'best': Linux or BeOS. That is assuming only 1 choice. Could you qualify your answer.

There are a lot of different server usages, so I'm not going to cover them all.
For big web hosting, I'd choose Linux, because there are a lot of server tools, applications and information on how to configure it.
For small http/ftp/database/dhcp server tasks, I'd say BeOS with unofficial BONE (BeOS Networking Environment) is very much sufficient. Some good server apps like Apache 2 and PostgreSQL have been compiled for BeOS too.

 

[Vehementi]

Originally posted by JAV
'Nother quick question > if one were to have a server, which would be 'best': Linux or BeOS. That is assuming only 1 choice. Could you qualify your answer.

I would say Linux as well. A large majority of internet servers are based on Unix. I've seen a plethora of server packages in Red Hat alone. I'm not learned in the realm of BeOS, but I can tell you Linux is more suited toward servers.