mc said:Does anyone know how next years subscription operating system will be setup?
I'm wondering if the operating system will shut down if you do not pay the
annual subscription fee?
mc
|>Does anyone know how next years subscription operating system will be setup?
|>I'm wondering if the operating system will shut down if you do not pay the
|>annual subscription fee?
What their talking about "Microsoft Unveils Pay-As-You-Go Personal
Computing Designed for Emerging Market Consumers"
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/may06/05-21EmergingMarketConsumersPR.mspx
short http://tinyurl.com/g8dd4
What do you think would happen if you didn't pay?
Ron said:Probably the same thing as happens with any other subscription or
rental service - the service stops.
But the service is only available in Brazil so far, with plans to
introduce it to India, Mexico, Russia and China over the next several
months.
There is more detailed information available at
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/flexgo/payasyougo.mspx
There are apparently two different plans being introduced, according
to that site. One is essentially a monthly installment purchase of a
PC plus Windows through an Internet Service Provider with 20 percent
down and the balance paid over 24 months. After 24 months the computer
is paid for and the ISP's monthly fees would be reduced accordingly.
The second is a prepaid card system based on actual usage. That one
is based on a one-third down payment with the balance of the price
paid over 800 hours of usage. Prepaid usage cards would be purchased
and inserted into the computer while it is being used. When the hours
on the card are used up a new card would be have to be purchased with
more hours on it. After 800 total hours have been used the cards
would no longer be required.
There is, by the way, at least one other software rental system
available from Microsoft for certain users. That is the Microsoft
Action Pack
What hogwash! Twenty-four (24) months is an eternity insofar as
a computer is concerned. It would already be 6 months past 1 cycle
of Moore's Law. And paying something as low as $20 per month does
not represent much savings when the actual re-sale cost to replace
(or upgrade) the computer is concerned at the end of 24 months.
And as for the prepaid cards, how equally absurd. Have we now
reached the age of disposable computer systems? That is, when the
card expires, junk it? The landfills are already filled beyond
capacity with toxic and hazardous waste.
Asher_N said:Try to make sense man! In the first paragraph you bitch about how 24 months
is too long to pay for a computer, and then bitch about disposable
computing. Make up your mind.
BTW, 24 months is very reasonable to pay for a computer. The majority of
users keep their computers 3-5 years.
I think I see the direction GH is taking. It is akin to having
a permanent leasing arrangement on driving an automobile, such
as being promoted in the US. This type of financial arrangement
gives zero equity to the participant, which might be good or bad,
depending on the deal itself. This is the "disposable" aspect of
the setup but what value is there in an obsoleted computer that
is 24 months old and with the lease price on the upgraded OS being
doubled the original, perhaps?
I think I see the direction GH is taking. It is akin to having
a permanent leasing arrangement on driving an automobile, such
as being promoted in the US. This type of financial arrangement
gives zero equity to the participant, which might be good or bad,
depending on the deal itself. This is the "disposable" aspect of
the setup but what value is there in an obsoleted computer that
is 24 months old and with the lease price on the upgraded OS being
doubled the original, perhaps?
Asher_N said:Keep in mind that a lot of corporation lease their computer equipment. It
saves on having to come up with a large amount of cash to purchase, and
also on trying to dispose of obsolote equipment.