From The Register;
The most prominent feature of Windows Vista is its cost. So, before we get into the nuts and bolts of how it behaves, let's talk about value for money. Because at these prices, it had better be good.
The stand-alone version of Vista Ultimate retails for €600, or $780 here in Ireland. Amazon.com is selling this $780 version to Americans for $380. Or, to put it another way, Europeans are subsidising Americans by $400 on every copy they buy.
Bill Gates tried to explain this anomaly during a BBC TV interview by claiming that Microsoft "tries to keep prices largely in line country by country." Bill said that he had "not followed how the exchange rates made that drift", and added that rates "can go out of alignment as currencies go up or down".
Apparently, Bill's minders had neglected to prep him for that question, because if he understood even the basic principles behind currency exchange rates, he would have known that the "drift" would make Vista cheaper in Europe. The American $380 stand-alone Vista Ultimate package would retail here for €292 plus VAT, not €600 with VAT. So obviously, there's some monkey business going on with the price, and Bill isn't fooling anyone.
The rest The full article
I'll stick with Linux / KDE
The most prominent feature of Windows Vista is its cost. So, before we get into the nuts and bolts of how it behaves, let's talk about value for money. Because at these prices, it had better be good.
The stand-alone version of Vista Ultimate retails for €600, or $780 here in Ireland. Amazon.com is selling this $780 version to Americans for $380. Or, to put it another way, Europeans are subsidising Americans by $400 on every copy they buy.
Bill Gates tried to explain this anomaly during a BBC TV interview by claiming that Microsoft "tries to keep prices largely in line country by country." Bill said that he had "not followed how the exchange rates made that drift", and added that rates "can go out of alignment as currencies go up or down".
Apparently, Bill's minders had neglected to prep him for that question, because if he understood even the basic principles behind currency exchange rates, he would have known that the "drift" would make Vista cheaper in Europe. The American $380 stand-alone Vista Ultimate package would retail here for €292 plus VAT, not €600 with VAT. So obviously, there's some monkey business going on with the price, and Bill isn't fooling anyone.
The rest The full article
I'll stick with Linux / KDE
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