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MS-DEFCON 2:
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it.
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Windows vs Linux, take 346,782
Posted on March 9th, 2009 at 08:43 5 commentsI just read Paul Thurrot’s blog, taking John Dvorak to task for ripping Microsoft about the outrageous price of Windows and Office. Dvorak’s conclusion:
I can get a complete Intel motherboard with an Atom processor, ready to install in a box, for about $100. All I need is a $30 memory module, an inexpensive hard disk ($50) and a case/power supply ($75). For $255, I can have a pretty nice cheap machine. Now I have to add the most basic version of Windows for $199? And Office for another $399 (standard no-frills edition)?
Let’s add this up: Hot little computer: $255. Basic low-end Microsoft software: $598.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Paul notes that you can get Windows Home Basic for much less money. (He’s right, but who in their right mind runs Windows Home Basic?) You can get Office Student & Teacher for less, too. When I do the math, I come up with $120 for Vista and $90 for Office. That means the software for a bare-bones system costs almost as much as the hardware.
What’s wrong with this picture, indeed?
Just last week I published an article in Windows Secrets Newsletter that describes a screaming Windows 7 machine that I put together while working on my Windows 7 book. The whole thing cost $295 (not including the monitor). It’s easy – you can do it, too, if you know what to look for. (The article is in the paid version of the newsletter, but you can subscribe for any amount you care to donate.)
What John says is absolutely true: increasingly, Microsoft is pricing itself out of the game. Sorry, Paul, but them’s the facts. It’s like the old maxim about a five dollar horse and a ten dollar saddle – except nowadays that five dollar horse looks more and more like a Kentuck Derby contender.
Microsoft is facing very serious competition from Linux. And more and more, it’s hard to beat free.
5 responses to “Windows vs Linux, take 346,782”
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Colin March 9th, 2009 at 10:19
I completely agree. Microsoft thinks they can get away with ridiculous prices because everyone uses their software anyway, but pretty soon people will start using Linux and OpenOffice.org. I don’t know how much they’ll charge for the Windows 7 upgrade from Vista, but in my opinion it should be pretty cheap, especially since Vista is so bad and Windows 7 is just the fix.
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The DIY is a minuscule market. This “calculus” does not apply in the general market where people buy complete systems. They do not assemble their own desktop computers. Microsoft does not charge HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, ASUS the same price for the OS as they charge Paul, you, or me.
Yes, Office is expensive, but it is becoming increasingly irrelevant. I find myself rarely using anything besides Outlook and I am pondering whether or not it is time to retire it. More-and-more, people spend their time on their computers in their browsers where Office is of no use. This non-Office computing experience is reinforced by smartphone use where spreadsheets, word processors and presentation tools are non used.
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RHFtech Help Desk (and more) » Blog Archive » Is Microsoft’s business model done? Yes, almost. March 9th, 2009 at 19:03
[...] pulls a Michael Moore and gets his facts wrong…”. Woody Leonhard at AskWoody.com responded with Windows vs Linux, take 346,782, wherein he disagrees with Thurrott and agrees with Dvorak. Herein I respond to all [...]
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Bob Primak March 10th, 2009 at 00:39
Actually, most of us Home Users process documents and do spreadsheets, and we do not want our data tied up on line in the event of an Internet outage. So I use OpenOffice.org, which is free and does everything I want. Only a few file-type incompatibilities with MS Office, and I can live with that.
Cloud Computing is a wonderful pipe-dream, if only the Internet were reliable and safe. But it is neither.
As for the OS, which is the focus of this entry, I can live with whatever comes with the PC. Just let Woody and his colleagues here keep warning us about MS screwups, and I will be a happy camper, whether it’s Windows XP or Windows 7. (No Vista for me, please!)
Since you can’t (easily) buy a computer without paying for the OS, I’ll take mine ready-made, thank you. But I will switch off IE 8 and use Firefox 3.1 when it comes out. That’s all I would change. And as I say, security for free is good enough these days, so no need to buy anything there — just download free programs and set to auto-update.
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I am just waiting for the Windows 7 realease. I am just so excited about it. Xp and Vista will be long gone !!!!!!!
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