[Linux-aus] [luv-talk] Should I feel sorry for Queenslanders?!

[Daniel Jitnah]

> P.S. It still amazes me that Microsoft charges for Windows.  I 
> mean, why not just give it away for free?

Very simple reason! ... They **CAN** charge for it and there are
enough people out there who are not opposed to paying and as long as
there will be people who will pay, why would they not make more bucks
from that?! ... ie higher dividend to share holders.

Remember what the MS Rep said to the Senate Inquiry into software
pricing: "They set prices according to what the market will pay".. or
something to that effect.

There are people who feel that its degrading to use free software,
because they regard this as attitude of misers! and that to them is
socially not appealing. This is what I tell them  "OK how about you
use free software and for every dollar that you would have spent on
purchasing MS software, you give the same amount to a charity of your
choice instead or towards a cause you really feel strongly about?  You
would be contributing to more good to the community in doing so, and
you be happier!".

Note that forced to do so, MS almost did it when the were giving away
XP practically for free to netbook vendors makers when the first
netbooks came out wih Linux.

It's the perfect lock in to using the Microsoft
> Store, Microsoft Office, Microsoft whatever and all the programs 
> that rely on it.

They already have the lock-in, does not have to be a "perfect" one!

Cheers
Daniel

It must cost them a non-trivial sum to run the licensing programme.
> And if they gave it away for free, one of the chief advantages of 
> FOSS (free as in beer) is gone.  It might reduce the price of 
> computers too, but mostly that's a non-issue IMO.  I can only 
> assume it's a combination of pride and blind faith in the 
> proprietary software religion that keeps them insulting people by 
> charging money for it.
> 
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