05.22.09
Gemini version available ♊︎With Earnings Down 32%, Microsoft Decides Windows no Longer ‘Free’ (Gratis), Not Even to Charities
“Give us whatever you got…”
Summary: Microsoft’s plan of elevating charities is far from an elevation now that times are rough
THE COST of lock-in is very high, but it may take a while for it to ‘kick in’ — so to speak — and actually take effect. The user is always at the mercy of the vendor which can change rules and prices while preventing access to program code and formats (specifications, if any). It is a hostage situation and a forever-ticking time bomb.
Microsoft’s investors are desperate for a renaissance now that Microsoft is not only stagnant but sees its income falling by staggering numbers.
What might Microsoft do?
Demand payment from those least able to pay.
Is this a wise strategy?
Judge by this new article:
Microsoft charity crackdown spurs boycott
Microsoft faces a backlash from thousands of aged care providers and charities that are set to dump its software to avoid some A$50 million in price hikes.
The Redmond giant is pressing ahead with new global software licensing agreements, some imposing a whopping 500 percent price increase, to stamp-out what it initially claimed were illegal uses of its discounted offerings by not-for-profit agencies.
This is not the first such story from Australia. There was a similar story last year, so these charities ought to drop Microsoft immediately and hopefully move to GNU/Linux.
How funny it must be that while Microsoft plays tough with tax-exempt charities, Microsoft itself wants huge tax breaks. We previously wrote about Microsoft's debt and tax evasion as well as the tendency to find cheaper labour, betray those promises it made to senator Grassley, and take advantage of Abramoff visas. Now there is this:
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have seen their bottom lines bulge over the years by farming out work for cheaper compensation to overseas countries. Now, with the U.S. economy reeling, President Obama’s $190 billion tax proposal that ends incentives for American companies to create employment overseas while hoping to create more jobs in America won’t necessarily have the intended impact, according to economists, businesses and some Obama insiders, Bloomberg reports.
Can the money Microsoft paid Obama help the company reverse or mitigate this? Microsoft only cares about itself. █
“A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
–Albert Einstein
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David Gerard said,
May 22, 2009 at 8:22 am
I fully support Microsoft putting in ardent efforts to get its full license price in all such circumstances. Because the trouble with this sort of bait-and-switch is that there are now other options. And good sysadmins do work for charities at half the pay specifically so they can do some good for the world, and relish the opportunity to do things right even on a shoestring.
twitter Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Bait and switch is a good description of what happened. Here is a six month old story, where the amount was $70 million AU. They were offered “academic” pricing and told they did not qualify after migration studies and install. Projects were put on hold and a scramble for answers was started instead. It is good that the answer seems to be to dump M$. Moving to free software is the right move and something cluefull sys admins will relish on it’s own. Only the most ignorant and well bribed administrations stick with Windows these days.
David Gerard Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:35 pm
In charities, they’re hardly ever bribed. There’s plenty of stupid and incompetent people working in them as well as smart ones who want to do something good, because the pay matches their abilities. Ah well. That is, stupidity explains it without having to assume malice (on their part, not Microsoft’s).
Roy Schestowitz Reply:
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:57 am
One by one, Microsoft ‘cracks down’ on charities.
programmi gratis said,
May 22, 2009 at 11:45 am
I like that Albert’s statement … That how we should all think!