Microsoft Lowers Vista’s Price
Microsoft is lowering the price of Windows Vista, suggesting that people are becoming less likely to shell out big money for software when so much more computing is done through online sources.
Admittedly, the vast majority of us are not on Linux at this point and likely won’t be anytime soon, but there are signs the market for software is starting to decline. With more open source and ad supported applications flooding the Internet, particularly from Google, Microsoft needs to be proactive to alter its business model for the future. It’s not a crisis yet, but it’s in the mail.
Perhaps this is why Microsoft wants Yahoo, and wants it now: they need the engineers to transition away from the paid software end of their business in order to move ahead. Microsoft’s profits are built on the back of Windows and Office, and when users quit demanding these items, they are going to be in a ton of trouble.
Thanks to Saul Hansell at the New York Times for the info.
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