OCOTILLO said:
Have you ever wondered what the cost is to MS of all the security flaws in Windows? How many MS employees are dedicated to developing security patches? How much of the MS public relations budget is spent trying to make Windows look good? What is the effect on the morale of MS employees in the face of all the criticism heaped on Windows?
I am sure these costs make up a significant portion of the price paid by computer manufacturers for Windows installed on their systems. Which of course means that in addition to the frustrations faced by Windows users, they have to pay for the "privilege".
Microsoft are brilliant, in an evil way. Normally, a company would have to budget for completing, testing, and revising a product before it ships. Then they have to include a contingency item in their budgeting for the risk associated with warranty repairs and failures.
Microsoft has turned the equation on its head -- they have pushed virtually all of the cost of warranty repair and defect remediation onto their customers . This means that the incentive for testing and perfecting a product before shipping is removed -- there is no longer a disincentive for shipping a faulty product.
The cost of posting a patch on a server is miniscule compared with the (let's say) 100 million people who will have to download and install it at their expense - thumbnail calculation -- 100 million times 10 minutes at minimum wage = $83 million dollars per patch moved from Microsoft's expense ledger to their customers'.
And then, Microsoft ropes their customers into ongoing upgrades -- again which the customers have to self install and troubleshoot.
Brilliant. Hand all the costs of the problems to your customer, and then make them pay for the priviledge.
Can you imagine an elevator company operating this way.
"Your building came installed with the OEM version of Up-Down 3.1. In order to access advanced tech support, please pay $$. Thank you, you have been placed in a priority queue....
Now, to address your problem of the doors not opening, please order our Doors.DLL patch, it is free, however shipping is your responsibility and instructions are provided for self installation...."
Later
"Please enter your customer authorization code....
Unfortunately the Doors.DLL patch only works with the improved Up-Down 2004 system. Up-Down 3.1 has been discontinued, and the 12 month sunset clause is over, we no longer offer support for Up-Down 3.1 Please purchase the upgrade to Up-Down 2004, deinstall your existing elevators, and completely replace them with Up-Down 2004. This will require replacing your building's electrical system, as the recommended power requirements for Up-Down 2004 have been changed.
If you had referred to the Minimum System Requirements disclosed on our website, Up-Down 2004 requires a minimum of 512 square feet of shaft, therefore clients with buildings constructed before 2001 will have to tear down and pour new foundations.
We expect that Service Pack 2 of Up-Down 2004 will be released in early 2006, this will have many added features such as: Interior lights, carpets, and the option to close the doors again afther they have been opened more than once.
Thank you for your interest in Microsoft Levitation Systems."
