Windows XP Pro for $46.10!
Posted by Steven Parker on 21 October 2001 - 14:01 · no comments & 191 views
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Full name: Steven Parker
Forum name: Neobond
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Full name: Steven Parker
Forum name: Neobond
Contact: via forum PM
Submissions: Normal · Headline
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Oh yea... what a deal. Thankfully I received an email from Jason K. who very kindly took the time to let us know about how you can get Windows XP Pro for, now get this $46.10 (plus shipping and tax o course).
Visit www.pcnation.com and in the search bar enter E85-00441 only one item will appear. It looks like this is the academic version of the XP but it does say you can purchase it so give it a shot if you don't want to pay retail for it.
Q. What is the difference between "Academically Priced" software and the commercial versions of these products?
A. Nothing. Aside from the price, these products are functionally identical to the commercial versions. As a student or faculty member, you are eligible to purchase software at educational discounts.
You need to be a student to buy this LICENCE (its not MEDIA at all) DOH! :disappoin
INNOVATION COMMERCIALIZATION. Nor will XP's glaring similarities to the new Mac OS figure large in Apple's future. Sure, XP narrows some of the striking differences between the two platforms. Why consider a Mac if XP offers 90% of what OS X does? But the sad truth is few Windows users would ever consider switching to a Mac anyway -- no matter how superior.
Windows' domination of PCs has little to do with innovation or quality, for that matter. It rose to prominence because Bill Gates understood before anyone else that computers would become commodities. He realized that the only way to make any money would be to lock up the lion's share of the market. In a brilliant -- some critics would say heavyhanded -- strategy, Gates bested both Apple and IBM by cajoling the biggest chipmaker and manufacturers into a cabal that still dominates the PC industry.
What Microsoft has excelled at ever since is not innovation but the commercialization of the innovations of others, primarily Apple. Windows has never been great, but always just good enough for most users. Can you imagine if Windows really worked as promised? Hundreds of thousands of IT troubleshooters would be thrown out of work worldwide. I don't think the economy could withstand such a blow. But I digress.
BUFFING APPLE. Ironically, I think it actually helps Apple when Microsoft copies its innovations. It popularizes Apple's innovations. And it buffs Apple's image as the leader, a perception critical to the company's prosperity. As long as Apple keeps a step or two ahead of Microsoft it will remain the stylish alternative, the Robin Hood of computing. And every industry, whether soda pop or chipmaking, has its Robin Hood.
Truth is, PCs and Macs have evolved into largely separate and distinct markets. PCs dominate corporate and home computing. Apple is the instrument of choice for writers, musicians, visual artists of every stripe, and publishing.
There's some competition for first-time users, but this is a shrinking market. Nearly every American family that wants a computer has one now. And if you've been raised in a PC household, chances are good a PC is what you'll buy when leaving the nest. The only market where Macs and PCs still go head-to-head is education. Apple has the largest single share there, at 20%-plus. However, PCs still outnumber Macs in schools overall.
SHARING. It would be great if Apple grabbed more market share. And Apple is certainly trying to do so, both with OS X and its new retail stores. But even the rosiest of scenarios don't foresee Apple garnering more than a couple of percentage points in share. And that's okay. "Even if Apple captures just another 1% in market share it would be a bonanza for the company," says Charles Wolf, analyst at Needham & Co.
So go ahead, Microsoft. Mimic OS X to your heart's content. You'll only help showcase how superior the Mac is to a PC.