Boycott Vista in the UK!

[Bob I]

Bob I <[email protected]>
thought we'd be interested in the following...





And how many people do you know who would venture into Open Source
without batting an eyelid?

For the vast majority of people, *nix might as well be on another
planet, so that pretty much does equal no choice.

Humm, that seems to be a common complaint. Prepackaged has it's costs.
So, either learn to cook, or quit carping about the restaurant menu prices.

 

[Gordon]

Eh? What planet are you on? It's been very possible for many years now
to buy a PC with no OS.

yes, of course it has, BUT NOT FROM AN OEM......

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

yes, of course it has, BUT NOT FROM AN OEM......

No, that's still not true. Change that sentence to "It's been very possible
for many years now to buy a PC with no operating system, but not from one of
the *big national* OEMs," and then it becomes true.

Dell, Gateway, etc., are not the only OEMs. There are *lots* of small,
local, mom-and-pop OEMs.

 

[DL]

Office* & win* / Vista English versions are the same, in any English
speaking country, eg US, UK, Aus, NZ etc
You can purchase either from US online retailers that offer overseas
shipping. (there are many)
A US credit/charge card is not required.
Shipping cost is not exorbitant and there is no UK customs duty on software.

I have purchased both HW & Software from the US

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I hear the price of a German car is higher in the US than in Germany.
What's up with that?
I hear those crazy people want us to pay shipping and import expenses too.

I hear we pay $70 in the US for a jacket they can get for $5 in S Korea.
What's up with that?

So you think it costs a couple hundred dollars to ship a CD from the
U.S. to the U.K.? Just who'
s the "crazy" one hear?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Mike Hall - MS MVP Windows Shell/User]

Bruce

Ripping each other off is almost a British National pastime. they are the
absolute worst for it.. if they think that they can 'put one over another',
they will..

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Bruce

Ripping each other off is almost a British National pastime. they are
the absolute worst for it.. if they think that they can 'put one over
another', they will..

Really? Things sure have changed since I last lived in the UK, then.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[C A Upsdell]

Yeh, what a pain in the ass when a government tries to protect the consumer.
The same goes for protecting the environment. The damn governments should
keep their noses out of that and leave it to the benevolent corporations to
look after things.

Absolutely. It is so important in the EU to protect consumers from
buying products they want, and to force vendors to offer products (like
Windows N) that no one wants. What bliss for the consumer!

 

[Gordon]

So you think it costs a couple hundred dollars to ship a CD from the U.S.
to the U.K.? Just who'
s the "crazy" one hear?

Especially as the XP CDs were pressed in Ireland, so I'm sure the Vista
ones will be also.....

 

[Alias]

Really? Things sure have changed since I last lived in the UK, then.

You obviously hung out with a different crowd than Mike did.

Alias

 

[Eric]

I'm not saying it costs $100 to ship a CD. I was saying that could be part
of it, with other factors involved.

Especially as the XP CDs were pressed in Ireland, so I'm sure the Vista
ones will be also.....

Did you miss the part where I asked if they were shipping CD straight from
Ireland to "the UK" (England?), or if it was part of a package deal with a
PC purchased from the US where they shipped the CD to the US and back up to
the UK?

Just one suggestion... perhaps MS purposely overcharged the UK because we're
just slowly making them pay our expenses for the wars.

 

[Enigmatic]

Absolutely. It is so important in the EU to protect consumers from
buying products they want, and to force vendors to offer products (like
Windows N) that no one wants. What bliss for the consumer!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I contacted Microsoft about this and the reply was as follows:

"Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your email concerning price differences for
Windows Vistaâ,,¢ between the US and the UK.
In response to your query, I can
confirm that the U.S will usually be cheaper owing to the following
reasons:

U.S resellers, particularly online ones may be able to sell the
product at a
lower price owing to them taking a reduction in their margins. They
can normally
do this more than resellers in smaller countries due to the economies
of scale
of selling to a larger customer base. I should point out at this
stage, that as
a result of EU regulations we cannot set prices ourselves.
Taxation, which can
be substantially lower in the U.S than the U.K.
Operation costs such as
distribution and manufacturing can be significantly lower in the U.S
owing to
the same economies of scale as mentioned above.
Different Microsoft regional
offices can offer promotions and discounts to resellers and consumers
that are
specific to their own region. Microsoft UK and Microsoft Europe will
quite often
offer such promotions that are not applicable to our U.S customers.
Finally,
the differences in price can also vary with the currency exchange rate
between
the U.S and the U.K.
I hope this information has answered your query, but if
you have any more questions please give us a call on 0870 60 10 100.
Our lines
are open from 8.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. Telephone traffic is
at its
lowest early in the morning. Of course if you prefer please send me an
email.

Many thanks for contacting us.
Kind Regards,
MAMATHA DALEER
Customer Service
Professional
Microsoft Customer Services"



There you go, folks.

Robin

 

[Pete Stavrakoglou]

What does that have to do with the end user? Did the end user fine MS? Can
you provide one credible source for this speculation or are you just
making it up as you go along?

Alias

Let's suppose, for arguments sake, that Eric is correct (and he may be).
The cost is always bore by the end user, they always absorb the "cost of
doing business". When business taxes are raised by the governemtn here in
the US, we consumers wind up paying for it in highr costs for the products,
that's why this nonsense of windfall taxies on oil companies will only cost
the consumer more.

 

[Pete Stavrakoglou]

With Bush's fiscal and warring policies, that will never happen.

Our economy is doing well, has been for years now. His policies aren't as
bad as the press or whatever your source is would have you believe.

 

[Alias]

Let's suppose, for arguments sake, that Eric is correct (and he may be).
The cost is always bore by the end user, they always absorb the "cost of
doing business". When business taxes are raised by the governemtn here in
the US, we consumers wind up paying for it in highr costs for the products,
that's why this nonsense of windfall taxies on oil companies will only cost
the consumer more.

Considering that generic OEM versions are the same price here as in the
USA, the argument is moot.

Alias

 

[Alias]

Our economy is doing well, has been for years now. His policies aren't as
bad as the press or whatever your source is would have you believe.

False. Weak dollar. Highest budget and trade deficit in history. Most
jobs are crap jobs at places like McDonald's. Over 40 million people
without health insurance. The most prisoners and homeless in the
developed world. The economy may be great for Exxon, Microsoft and
Bush's buddies but not the average American. Tell the victims of
hurricane Katrina how groovy the US economy is. And, when you're done,
take a stroll through LA's South Central and tell them because neither
of them have gotten the news.

Alias

 

[Eric]

False. Weak dollar. Highest budget and trade deficit in history. Most jobs
are crap jobs at places like McDonald's. Over 40 million people without
health insurance. The most prisoners and homeless in the developed world.
The economy may be great for Exxon, Microsoft and Bush's buddies but not
the average American. Tell the victims of hurricane Katrina how groovy the
US economy is. And, when you're done, take a stroll through LA's South
Central and tell them because neither of them have gotten the news.

Alias

Do you have any actual facts to back up your wild accusations?
You obviously have no clue.
There are so many things wrong with your statements.

 

[Tx2]

Bob I <[email protected]>
thought we'd be interested in the following...

Humm, that seems to be a common complaint.

I don't think it's a complaint - it's a fact. Linux is a geeks OS.

Prepackaged has it's costs.
So, either learn to cook, or quit carping about the restaurant menu prices.

Hey, i'm not complaining about the pricing! In fact - i have no
immediate intention of changing to Vista, but if I did, pricing is
pricing.

UK vs USA pricing has always been a bone of contention with us Brits
anyway; c'est la vie.

XP works perfectly for me, but I will eventually get round to setting up
a Linux box when I have time and can be bothered to piss-arse around
with configuring it.

 

[Pete Stavrakoglou]

False. Weak dollar. Highest budget and trade deficit in history. Most jobs
are crap jobs at places like McDonald's. Over 40 million people without
health insurance. The most prisoners and homeless in the developed world.
The economy may be great for Exxon, Microsoft and Bush's buddies but not
the average American. Tell the victims of hurricane Katrina how groovy the
US economy is. And, when you're done, take a stroll through LA's South
Central and tell them because neither of them have gotten the news.

Alias

Are you an American? Those of us who are average Americans know differently
than what you seem to think is the case. You couldn't be more wrong. BTW,
what does the number of criminals in jail have to do with the strength of
our economy. What are you smoking?

 

[Alias]

Do you have any actual facts to back up your wild accusations?

What fact do you have trouble with?

You obviously have no clue.

Really? Please explain.

There are so many things wrong with your statements.

Name one.

Alias