Re: Make older versions free

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or partner with
some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along with a
disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i think many people
who pay for high speed internet such as myself would not pay the money for
it, but would use a free ad supported version of it. They need to do
something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't even ad
supported!




cyberTaz" wrote:

One consideration - among numerous others:

How do you propose the distribution of these charitable donations be
handled?

Is MS supposed to ship free to anyone who asks? Perhaps UPS or FedEx would
be willing to chip in - better yet, the USPS could be mandated to handle it
gratis, after all it would only increase postal rates a modest 25-30%. Or
would the product be stuffed into cereal boxes as a promotional item? And
who bears the cost of this distribution? Perhaps you'd be willing to donate
a few hours a week to making home deliveries?

Even if you're now thinking "download" - which isn't practicable for a
number of reasons, but even if it were - consider the likelihood that most
anyone not able to pay the price for their software probably doesn't have a
high speed connection in the first place. That basically leaves you with
those who *can* afford it but aren't *willing* to pay for it. Ergo, any
costs incurred by such a program have to be recouped from the sale of
current product, which in itself would be curtailed by the freebie system,
resulting in even higher prices for the rest of us.

I'm not sure what your location is - despite your addy - but here in the
good ol' US of A I'm just one of many who are getting tired of footing the
bill for freeloaders.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac



On 11/19/06 11:47 AM, in article
394C0977-DC3E-473C-BBB3-E992A8EEB106@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, "thebigdintexas"
<thebigdintexas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Good point.....would have to add "does not qualify for a discounted upgrade"
to my suggestion along with ad-supported. Thanks.




"Opinicus" wrote:

"thebigdintexas" <thebigdintexas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

I have a suggestion regarding Microsoft Word. How about offering the older
version for free when the latest version, such as in Office 2007, is
released. Microsoft could switch the older version to ad supported or
something, then offer it for free. Comments?

Would they qualify for upgrades? If so, I doubt MS would go along with the
idea.

--
Bob
http://www.kanyak.com





.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Can not get past the welcome screen
    ... What I meant by reformatting is taking my ... to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. ... "Boot Menu" is the choice that you want. ... CD drive and press "Enter" The computer should now boot off of the disk. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • RE: panda and windows xp stop error
    ... THE PROBLEM CONTINUES TO REPEAT EACH TIME PANDA INTERNET SECURITY 2008 SCANS ... THE COMPUTER CRASHES IN THE MIDDLE OF DISK C: ... You may need to reposition/reset the RAM sticks in their slots. ... Download Avast Cleaner from here: ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)
  • Re: Failure to Reinstall Windows XP
    ... to the hard disk during a standard WinXP installation. ... is a Dell, I presume you've contacted Dell Support? ... The Autorun feature on the system disk failed to download the C:I386 ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: The long-sought Harry Conover pyro files
    ... Compared with the original distribution disk, some if the junk kid pyro ... I caution everyone not to download the ... disk image from any site other the one that Bob has provided, ... wall as traditional popular selections. ...
    (rec.pyrotechnics)
  • Re: Hard Disk Problem
    ... the power supply voltages must be measured with a multimeter ... disk drive diagnostics from the disk manufacturer. ... 2.Does using torrents to download some files, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)