Microsoft prices too high: Russia
p2pnet.net news:- Striking similarities between the complete failure of Warner Music (US), EMI (Britain), Vivendi Universal (France) and Sony BMG (Japan and Germany), the members of the Big 4 Organized Music cartel, to establish a viable corporate online music business are being reflected in news from Russia where the government is hitting out at Microsoft.
Exorbitant prices and low quality product, coupled with a refusal to abandon outdated and outmoded business models, are behind the Big 4 labels’ continuing inability to establish themselves as even marginal suppliers of online music downloads. Instead, music lovers use the free p2p networks or independent sites.
Now the Russian government says Microsoft’s overly strict and costly licensing regime is to blame for the high rates of consumer piracy in the country, according to CNET News.
Deputy Russian IT minister Dmitry Milovantsev said the low average income of people in Russia is one of the factors in the relatively widespread use of cheaper pirated copies of software.
‘But he also laid some of the blame on the behavior of the large software vendors for their restrictive and expensive licensing policies,’ says the story, going on, ‘In particular he singled out Microsoft for its policy of not allowing partners to sell computers without copies of Windows pre-installed in Russia.’
CNET has Milovantsev stating, ‘If you want to install Linux you have to erase Microsoft, and that increases the cost of each computer by $50. (With) one that already has Windows installed on it, and you want to use open source, you have to install the operating system.’
And in a remark which could apply equally well to the entertainment cartels, ‘We are constantly fighting against unlicensed use of software, but we need to fight not with the consumers but those who develop the software,’ he said.
Also See:
CNET News – Russia hits out at Microsoft licensing, February 16, 2007
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
February 20th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Indeed it is laid right on the head of the problem. This overpricing and over restriction is what is making folks go to Linux in the case of M$. Not only is it driving piracy but nature abhors a vacuum, so do softwares.
Open source softwares are having a field day with these attitudes. Many third world countries whose citizens can’t pay for these softwares as often the price is months or more of what a worker would earn aren’t going without. They are doing quite well with downloading it through p2p.
Bill and the Boyz had a chance to change this with the request to let the teacher off the hook. Now they got a whole nation that will do so uninhibited of whatever they might have thought they were doing in denying that request. That they thought one teacher on the hook would teach them better, now instead the teacher is not going to be punished and the nation has been given whole sale permission to get it as they see fit, unofficially. Bill and the Boyz stepped in it and will now find their mistake multiplied into another hydra.
…and so the greedy get their just deserts.
February 20th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
‘And in a remark which could apply equally well to the entertainment cartels, ‘We are constantly fighting against unlicensed use of software, but we need to fight not with the consumers but those who develop the software,’ he said.
I could not agree more, not that anyoner will pay attention.
February 20th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Indeed. Starter Edition is a joke. What the people need are discounts, not crippleware that punishes the lawful. This is even worse than DRM.
Of course, any copyrighted stuff in Russia that isn’t in Russian is free game. So, if you can fluently read English, you’re set.
February 21st, 2007 at 1:30 am
would it not be better if each country had its own pricing system in Us dollars/us159 dollards in one country or whateve it is now might be epensive in one country not another.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:20 am
> would it not be better if each country had its own pricing system in Us dollars/us159
> dollards in one country or whateve it is now might be epensive in one country not
> another.
If in put in place by Microsoft, this won’t come cheap, I’m afraid. Expect restrictions like “licensed for USE on the territory on Russia” (illegal to take your laptop abroad), a huge price fork between the poorly translated NLVs and the US-English version for those who prefers the latter (this is already happening – the fork is $72/$90 for WinXP Home OEM), ubiquitous preloads, and a gradual, painful increase in pricing as new versions appear and the purchasing power grows.
Better leave it as it is now. Microsoft wants to gain more Windows addicts from the rapidly computerizing population – but why do we need to help them?
– Microsoft’s 51st registered user in Russia
February 21st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
According to a report on Pravda (http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/87/347/15919_salary.html ) that comments about how the average income had risen to $300/mo in Russia, the costs I’m seeing more like $199 for the full version of windows vista basic..
Presuming that’s all the average Russian pc user there wants, then 1/18th of their annual wages are ‘all’ thatââ¬â¢s required to buy in.
According to the US Census website (
http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/income03/statemhi.html ) the average American makes $43,527 {I wish I made that}… which means for the Average American only 1/218th of their annual wages are needed to buy into the latest basic windows version.
If only 1/218th were used of the ‘average’ Russian wage, that’d mean their cost would be $16.51 to be in the same cost-range as the ‘average’ American… or for their pricing range to be used on us, our price would be $2,418.16 for that basic version of Vista… kinda makes you want to just rush out there and drop two grand down doesn’t it? NOT!
Iââ¬â¢ve commented on this kind of price insult before (heck if I can find the link) on p2pnet, when price was brought up regarding Russia and their cd prices. Piracy is going to stay in Russia as long as they make pitiful wagesââ¬Â¦. When the average Russian earns $43,527 then charging them the same for software and having less piracy could be expected.
Just my 10 cents,
_-Jile-_