Friday, April 17, 2009

Somewhere Steve Jobs and Linus Torvalds are smiling...

Just when it looked like Microsoft might be strongly combating the Apple and Linux onslaught, they go and do something like this, as described in BusinessWeek magazine:

Because of the smaller size of Windows 7, three versions of the program will come loaded even on lower-end machines. If a consumer on a cheaper PC running the "Standard" version tries to use a high-definition monitor or run more than three software programs at once, he'll discover that neither is possible. Then he'll be prompted to upgrade to the pricier "Home Premium" or "Ultimate" version.

Um, did we not learn anything from the "trialware" experiments?

One reason why Microsoft's competitors have been gaining market share is because Microsoft seems to think they can do anything since customers have no other options and will just have to accept it. That's not the case anymore. I am not a Microsoft-basher and agree they have accomplished amazing things in history. But over time with practices like this, they are going to relegate themselves to history.

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