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Re: Dell refunds Vista and Works license fee

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> ____/ High Plains Thumper on Sunday 27 January 2008 06:10 : \____
> 
>> ml2mst wrote:
>> 
>> <SNIP>
>> 
>>> Since she had planned installing GNU/Linux all along, and she
>>> is not particularly fond of the though of paying the Microsoft
>>> tax for software she will wipe out right away, we took care to
>>> read the EULA that is shown the first time the machine. The
>>> license said that if the EULA is declined, the customer should
>>> contact the manufacturer (or installer) about their refund
>>> policy. By the way, the EULA box seems to have been engineered
>>> to let people accept the EULA as quickly as possible: <SNIP>
>> 
>>>
> http://blog.danieldk.org/post/2008/01/26/Dell-refunds-Vista-and-Works-license-fee
>> 
>> I found this a good thing when she insisted on a refund:
>> 
>> [quote] In the next reply a Dell representative answered that she
>> was indeed eligible for a refund for both Windows Vista and
>> Works. The combined refund is Euro 70 excluding tax. [/quote]
>> 
>> EUR 70 is USD 103 or GBP 52.  That is a hefty tax even if OEM.
>> Open Office is a much better product than Microsoft Works, so it
>> is a big gain with no losses.
> 
> It also shows why Microsoft is not a good financial state (it's bluffing).
> Because of Linux, Windows is sold relatively cheaply to OEMs. The big cash cow
> is Office, which faces threat from ODF and the Web.
> 

I think that Windows is important from the point of view of keeping
everyone "thinking Microsoft".  One people migrate off windows, then
they're off Microsoft Office too, since Office doesn't run on Linux
anyway.

Of course, Microsoft could port office to Linux, but that wouldn't
necessarily help them, as it would help people to migrate onto Linux,
which would then make them even *more* likely to consider alternatives
to Microsoft in all areas.

Whilst the money is made in corporate licences for Windows and Office,
as well as OEM per-processor licensing for domestic and small-business
users, plus government-deals and so on, any movement off Windows or
Office is likely to be catastrophic for Microsoft.

My prediction is that Microsoft will gradually reduce the OEM,
business-licence and Retail prices for Windows, claiming that there is
no longer value in the market, or do an Erik and claim "this is what
customers want" or some such, in order to try to prevent further
migrations like Munich.

The problem remains, however, that Microsoft have a voracious apetite
for cash, have lost almost half of their corporate assets in 3 years
(US$20bn has disappeared!) and will likely need *more* revenue per
customer rather than less, unless they can grow the market, something
which OLPC, Eee and others are preventing, or they can take monopoly
positions in other markets.  So far, they've had very limited success in
all the new market areas they've tried, making, apparently, huge losses
in Xbox, Zune and others (presumably, this is where a large part of the
"mislaid" assets have gone).  Along with shareholder dividends in order
to rescue at least the big shareholders.

-- 
| Mark Kent   --   mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk          |
| Cola faq:  http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/   |
| Cola trolls:  http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/                        |
| My (new) blog:  http://www.thereisnomagic.org                        |

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