> Anne; i can understabd your concern, but hopefully consumers will simply > take advantage of Microsoft if they start giving Windows away (Wouldn't > that be poetic justice? Consumers taking advantage of Microsoft instead > of the other way around?), and then migrate to open-source products when > M$ tries to gouge them on Office, etc..
MS is already allowing consumers to take advantage of MS. It's called pirating CDs. MS has quietly practiced a strategy of allowing CDs (and floppies, originally) to be easily copied between people and installed for free on different machines. It's been one of their tactics to enhance marketshare. One poster made a comment about MS giving away their products until Linux is "beaten." How do we define "beaten?" Forcing MDK in to Chapter 11, again? Buying them out? Forcing Novell out of the Linux business. No. Open source is here to stay. Push the corporate players out and others will rise up. "Beaten" means marketshare, as open source can't be bought out or put out of business, only certain Linux players can be. I think MS has plans to run a much leaner operation one day, relaying in 60% marketshare. Mature industries usually have a #1 player about around 50-70%, a #2 player at 20%-40% and everyone else carves up what's left over. MS know this will happen with the OS industry and they just want to be that #1. > > I'm fairly optimistic that consumers will recognize Microsoft's > give-away strategy for what it is and exploit Redmond until the feebie's > ends. Also, it could be legally argued that Microsoft is using it's > domination in the global market to unfairly change it's pricing and > marketing strategies. Wouldn't surprise me if some of the other big > companies started a class-action suit against M$ if they tried to give > Windows away. > > Still, Windows would finally be priced in direct relation to it's actual > value! > > Lanman -- ~Rory
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