Re: Bundling and operating systems

["Lewis A. Mettler" <lmettler@lamlaw.com>]

Doug,

I am not sure if Windows 3.1 is available anymore other than as part of
OS/2.

However, the price of Windows over time is simply not relevant to any
issue except to observe how Microsoft keeps the minimum price high via
bundling of add-on products.

Windows as an OS today would certainly be half the price it is if
networking and browser technology were unbundled.

The fact the price remains about the same as years ago is not meaningful
at all.

If Windows had a meaningful competitor, it would have to compete to
today's prices not yesterdays prices.

In fact, bundling IE with the OS suggested that the price is in fact
allocated between IE, networking and the OS itself.  Even the GUI should
be allocated part of the OS portion.

If a competitor or even an OEM could offer just the OS (sans browser,
networking, etc.) you can bet it would be a much lower priced PC.

Individual consumers would buy them like hotcakes for home use.  They
all would rather save the $75 rather than buy networking technology they
have no use for.

Corporate consumers would buy browserless systems for the same reason. 
A $35 discount would be taken by almost all of them.  If they wanted
browser capability on their business machines they could pick and choose
the technology best for them.  

Of course, Microsoft promoters on this list refuse to acknowledge the
needs of all consumers and just force the sale anyway.

Doug Masson wrote:
> 
> > On Sun, 19 Dec 1999, Simon Cooke wrote:
> >
> > > (1) What happens if the price remains constant? Or if the cost drops? The
> > > retail-store cost of Windows (3.1, 95, 98, 98SE) has dropped over the years.
> > > Windows 98 has IE included. It costs approximately the same as Windows 95 -
> > > and that's BEFORE you take into account inflation, in which case it costs
> > > less.
> >
> 
> Out of curiosity, what is the current retail-store cost of Windows 3.1?

-- 
Lewis A. Mettler, Esq.(Attorney and Software Developer)
lmettler@LAMLaw.com
http://www.lamlaw.com/ (detailed review of the Microsoft antitrust
trial)