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Everyone remembers those old milk churns that were used to
transport milk all over the country. Most of these churns have found
new life at country fairs and as overpriced flowerpots. If you
haven't seen one before, it's essentially a cylinder with a hinged
lid on the top.
There is an old Dutch saying that goes something like this:
"If you try to get the last drop of milk from the bottom of
the churn, the lid will likely smack you in the head."
In other words, greedy people get what they deserve, a smack in
the head.
It looks like Microsoft is about the get a smack in the head. Its
subscription scheme was specifically designed to do two things. One
is to lock in current users for the long haul. The second is to
charge them more for the same product.
This strategy is designed around a single premise: that users are
so dedicated to Microsoft and Microsoft products (ostensibly because
they are vastly superior to the competition) that Microsoft can do
whatever they feel and charge whatever they want.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, this is not the case. Recent studies
have shown that many companies are seriously considering opting out
of the Microsoft tax. Whole governments (like Norway
and Peru)
have mandated that, at the very least, Microsoft should compete for
contracts.
The lid seems to be coming down.
All of this is good news for Apple, of course. Upgrades are costly
and difficult to implement. For many companies, wiping the slate
clean now and starting fresh with something other than Microsoft
would be just as costly to implement, but it would save them scads of
cash because they wouldn't have to sign up for Microsoft's expensive
and controlling licensing plans for Office and Windows XP.
Of course, Apple is not immune to greed. The recent decision to
charge full price for OS 10.2 upgrades and to charge users for .Mac
demonstrates that Apple is no different from any other company.
Profits must be made, and investors must be satisfied. It would be
easy to sling mud at
Microsoft
Apple's monopoly position in the Mac market gives it the
same power Microsoft enjoys.
and claim that Apple is a better corporate citizen, but, truth be
told, Apple would likely do the same things if their positions were
reversed.
Essentially, Apple's monopoly position in the Mac market gives it
the same power Microsoft enjoys. Like it or lump it, we're wedded to
the machines we use everyday. Apple and Microsoft know this and are
willing to exploit it - until the lid smacks them in the head, that
is.
Stephen Van
Esch is the founder and president of
the
E-learning Foundry, an online training
resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual,
since he's also fluent in Windows and French.
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August 29 in LEM history: 00: My lowest low-end Mac - 01: Uncluttered organization - Microsoft wins over Mac user - 02: Salute to SatireWire - 03: Wireless Internet popping up everywhere - 05: World domination, online or off - A 3-dimensional Dock replacement - 06: Productive at the low end - PowerPC vs. Intel - Secure wireless
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