The Computer Corner
Stop that!
By Charles Miller

A couple of Atención readers with whom I correspond had some trouble understanding my earlier explanation of the ongoing battle between Microsoft and their own Windows XP product.

The mutiny now ongoing in the computer industry is an event for which I can cite no precedent. This is a case in which the creator of a product has lost control over the distribution process and cannot dictate it from the manufacturing end. When the Ford Motor Company wants to stop selling Ford Falcons they simply stop making them. No matter how much the dealerships and their buying public might clamor, if Ford management does not want to sell any more 2008 model Falcons, it simply stops making the 2008 model and forces everybody to buy the 2009 model, or nothing at all.

This is not the case with computer software. Microsoft Corporation licenses its Windows operating system to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Sony, etc. Microsoft provides one copy of Windows to these OEMs to sell and for every copy they install on a computer they manufacture, they send payment to Microsoft. In this process, Microsoft does not provide a physical product such as a CD. When the OEMs sell their computers with Windows installed, Microsoft need do nothing more than take the money.

Microsoft spent a lot of those dollars on research and development and after years of work created a new version of Windows. The new Windows Vista is a significant improvement over the older Windows XP, but there is one little problem. The new Windows Vista requires a lot of hardware resources in the form of memory, processor, and video.

Soon most consumers learn that a new computer to run Windows Vista costs $$$$ dollars while a comparable computer running Windows XP only costs $$. The OEMs are quick to see that a lot of their customers do not want to spend $$$$$$ and that if they cannot buy a computer for $$ they are not going to buy. So naturally the OEMs have a vested interest in selling computers their customers want to buy. They continue selling the Windows XP Microsoft does not want sold and continue sending $$$ to Microsoft.

When Microsoft introduced its new Windows Vista to the market, they set January 30, 2008 as the last day anyone can buy the older Windows XP. The OEMs respond by telling Microsoft “We sold this many copies of XP and here is your check for $$$.”

Microsoft says, “Stop that! Don’t sell XP any more!” to which the OEMs respond “This month we still sold copies of XP and here is your check for $$$.”

At present it appears that Microsoft is taking the $$$ while continuing to tell the OEMs that they ought to stop what they are doing. Microsoft does not have the ability, like Ford Motor Company, to simply discontinue making the product they want to stop selling because the distribution process is out of its direct control.

For now, it does not appear that Microsoft is going to start spending those $$$ on legal action to force their militant OEMs into submission. This battle of words has Microsoft sending out press releases announcing that sales of Windows XP shall be discontinued now, while Dell quietly reassures their customers they plan to continue selling XP through 2012.

Personally, I look for Microsoft to keep complaining, but take the $$$.

Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044-415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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