See replies below. Best regards, Ivan Baggett Bagotronix Inc. website: www.bagotronix.com
----- Original Message ----- From: "Abd ul-Rahman Lomax" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Protel EDA Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 10:34 PM Subject: Re: [PEDA] Open source SP7 > At 10:14 AM 10/22/2003, Bagotronix Tech Support wrote: > >Note: I am not against MS in principle. If I could buy a full version of > >W98 or 2K for $39, I'd do it. But $299 is just too much for software that > >should be priced as a commodity. > > Mr. Baggett has a strange idea of what the software costs. First of all, > you can buy a whole computer with Windows XP installed for.... I just did a > quick search and found on refurbdepot.com, an HP Pavilion 515X faster than > my present main machine for $399. Yes, it's painful to look at, I know..... > I'm trying not to think of what I spent, and I really didn't spend that > much. For the time.... Why is my idea strange? The HP hardware probably represents about $350 of the $399 price. That leaves about $49 for the XP license. That's pretty close to my idea of what XP should cost. Why should I have to buy a new PC to get a deal on the OS? What if I don't want to buy an HP? Or a Dell? Or a Compaq? I have an HP and Dell that are 5 and 7 years old. They are good machines, still in daily use. But I probably won't buy any more of them because they always use some proprietary parts in them. I once had to replace the power supply in the Dell. A remanufactured PS from Dell was $139. I should have been able to buy a new one for $40 if it had a standard ATX connector pinout. The connector was the same, just the pinout was proprietary. That's Dell really making an effort to screw their customers for parts! I also had a Compaq Presario 4640 (circa 1998). What an absolute piece of junk! It's the only computer I have officially retired and totally scrapped, as there was nothing salvagable in it except sheet metal (all parts were proprietary)! > > I looked at another company and found a computer that is about the same as > the one we use (in my wife's business) to run UPS Worldship 5, and it was > $79. It did not include the operating system, which was extra. How much > extra? Windows 98, $49. So even if you tossed the computer, the W98 license > would be $128. Quite a bit less than $299. Was that a used PC? $79 is too low to believe unless it is used. > > Okay, how much would it cost just to buy W98? First I found that I can buy > Windows XP Home Edition OEM for $92.95. As an OEM product, you have to buy > some hardware. The web site explained that if you buy a screw, it's enough. Buy a screw? That works on so many levels... > I know that this is the practice, I just bought Office XP 2002 Professional > Special Edition (includes Front Page and Publisher, free upgrade to XP 2003 > for all components) for $359. It came boxed with a Microsoft mouse. > "Hardware." From this same site, I could buy an optical mouse for about > $12, or I could buy any of many other useful items for only a few dollars, > perhaps I need a connector of some kind.... Have you ever tried OpenOffice? You could have saved some money, perhaps. It doesn't do everything MS Office does, but close enough for many needs. I use OpenOffice at home. I'd use it at work too, if I didn't already have Office 2000 Pro from a few years ago. > > But that was XP. I went to buycheapsoftware.com and found Windows 98 First > Edition OEM for $55. The listing said "includes OEM hardware." So we are > down to $55 to solve Mr. Baggett's UPS problem. I also went to the same > company from which I just bought XP2002, and they also had the OEM W98 > first edition for $55. That is a real price, from real companies who > deliver the product.... W98 First Ed sucks. Second Ed is much better. Better USB integration, fewer bugs. Those were probably leftover licenses from 1998. Not that I am opposed to old software, I'm just opposed to paying new money for old software. > > Since he had to come up with another computer due to the memory limitations > on his first one, though, the best solution might have been to buy a used > or refurbished computer with W98 installed. How much work he would have > saved!!! I already had a used PC laying around. I don't want to buy more hardware just to get some software! That's wasteful. I am not a hippie, greenie, or enviro-wacko, but I do recycle cans, bottles, paper, and cardboard boxes. I also try not to fill up the landfill with computers and old electronics. I believe in using a machine until it breaks. Then see if you can fix it. If so, then keep using it. If not, then buy a new one. You would be amazed how much money you can save this way. My previous car was in my service for 13 years. 8 years without a car payment saved me over $25K. Most of my home stereo equipment is at least 17 years old, and still sounds better than what you can find at Best Buy and Circuit City. > > I also found, looking around, another decent computer with Windows 2000 > installed, on ebay, starting bid $50, 4 hours to go, no bids. "Installed" > may or may not mean that the license is legitimately being sold, if such > niceties concern you.... One might ask the seller if the manuals and CD are > included. I'm tempted... but no time. I don't have the time or patience to do the ebay thing. I dislike auctions. You can find some great bargains on ebay, but you can also piss away a lot of time there too. > > Since I was looking on ebay, were any OS licenses for sale? I thought at > first there were none, but then I found one. A Dell Windows XP Professional > installation disk. It is packaged with a power cord, manufacturer sealed. I > think we now know what that is about. The price? There was one bid on it > for $9.99. The info says "may be installed on a Dell computer only." No > problem, there was a decent Dell computer for sale with no OS for $39. > > So much for expensive operating systems! > > (Yes, the systems are expensive, unless one finds the cracks in the market > facade.) facade: a false or superficial appearance, often designed to give a favorable impression. Yeah, it seems that retail boxed pricing structure of Windows is a facade. It tries to give the impression that Windows is worth $299, when it's really only worth $93 at OEM. So, if MS gets less money for the OEM version, why can't it get less money for the retail boxed version? OK, maybe an extra $20 to cover printing and distribution costs. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
