On Aug 25, 3:27 am, thufir <hawat.thu...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:06:05 -0700, Rex Ballard wrote:
> > I saw the Linux version of the EEE 4G on display at Heathrow airport,
> > and saw the Windows version at Best Buy in New Jersey the next day. I
> > was actually even more impressed by the Linux version. It seems that
> > the Windows version ONLY comes with Word, not all of works. The Linux
> > version comes with Writer (like Word), Presents (like PowerPoint), Calc
> > (like Excel), and Base (like Access), and all of them are quite
> > functional on the EEE 4G.
>
> Open Office runs under Windows, so they *could* include that software
> with the XP version.
Not without Microsoft's prior written permission. It seems that
Microsoft would rather give the OEMs word from works than a fully
functional office suite. If this is the "package deal" that OEMs are
getting, it's not that surprising that OEMs are looking more seriously
at Linux.
I mean, Windows XP with office would be "same stuff different day, ho
hum", but what they are offering with the NetBooks is more like "What
the F&*k is this, half the stuff is missing". While the Linux version
as more like "Well this is new and different, and they threw in a
database too, not bad".
For the 300 million who still haven't installed Open Office, that
might be a problem. But for the 700 million who have installed Open
Office on Windows systems, and know what they are getting, they know
that it's enough for what a NetBook was designed to be.
If Microsoft's hope is that notebook prices crash so low that nobody
will want a NetBook anymore, that's probably very bad news to the OEMs
who have paid a handsome price for Vista based on the promise of high
volumes and premium prices.
I'm wondering if the OEMs have price and volume minimums that would
trigger a renegotiation of contracts with Microsoft. I would guess
that many of the OEMs opted NOT to accept the trivial discounts in
exchange for giving Microsoft additional control.
In addition, I would guess that they are making some unusual requests,
like dual-boot, VMWare, and other "dual-mode" configurations, and
Microsoft has only 10 business days to respond with specific reasons
for rejecting such configuration changes. They want the same kind of
deal that Apple has, where they can preinstall their own version of
Linux or Unix, like Apple did, and then ADD Windows, the way Apple
does, as a concurrent system working under VMWare. If Microsoft
rejects too many such configurations for bogus reasons, that would
give the OEMs the ammunition to go to the judge, or even file lawsuits
on their own behalf.
It could mean another 10 billion in legal bills or Microsoft over the
next 5-7 years. Microsoft could handle it back when sales were strong
and both OEMs and Corporate customers were loyal. I suspect that if
OEMs start pushing for intervention, and corporations continue to
reduce their Microsoft budget by opting not to upgrade, opting for
lower grade service contracts, and switching more systems to Linux,
that Microsoft might find itself less equipped to pay $3 million/day
fines and $3 billion settlements, especially of they actually have to
pay cash, because the schools don't want Vista and Offiice anymore.
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