Paying For Windows Vista

My personal preference in the use of computers is without doubt the Mac but I hasten to add that in my professional work, I bow readily to the ubiquity of PCs. So i tend to use the Mac at home and the windows-based PC at my place of work. As with most people, computing life started with the PC until I came to the realization that it is highly unlikely that windows will be sufficiently safe, convenient and stable enough to meet my overwhelming approval. I realized pretty late that given the wide use of the Windows operating system means that it must trade off some safety and stability to make it conveient for use by novices.

A story appearing on the NYT states that even influential managers within the Microsoft Corporation faced serious difficulties with functionality of the Windows Vista. Randall Stross carefully dissects the material presented at a lawsuit against Microsoft regarding the weaknesses of Vista against the guarantees that were promised.

Reading through the story as stated, one may come to the sensible view that the deadlines linked to the launch of this product ensured that it was released well before it was sufficiently refined in order to meet the expectations that consumers had. Besides the confusing labels such as "Vista Ready" and "Vista Capable", I am convinced that the internal communication reveals that in spite of the disappointment, the decision to go ahead was not necessarily an easy one.

Still, the main lesson for this blogger is that the mechanism for pricing of software is completely wrong-headed. This is because the later versions that are more stable are cheaper and carry larger discounts. Early adopters, who pay most of the initial costs and whose troubles and mishaps help in accumulating knowledge for plugging the gaps and correcting the mistakes get a very bad deal. Is there no reason why the early adopters should be made to understand that the initial versions of the software are really beta versions and that they will without doubt suffer from instability and compatibility problems? In exchange for this admission, the guinea pigs ought to get a significant discount since the feedback from them would probably lead to the betterment of the product which would perhaps increase demand. Come to think of it, the upfront discounts would not be appropriate perhaps because software companies such as Microsoft have to ensure that they make the most money from the first versions before the pirates cash in.