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Free for educational and personal use only. I doubt your use would include that. Free for business would kill Microsoft, as much as they bet on their hardware
by devcpp 12y ago
Free for educational and personal use only. I doubt your use would include that.
Free for business would kill Microsoft, as much as they bet on their hardware locked in devices these days. They're not Apple just yet.
- dagw 12y agoHow much money does Windows make from OS licenses vs licenses from SQLServer/Office/Exchange/Sharepoint etc. etc. It's not impossible that a free OS would lead to selling more SQLServer and Office licenses and making up some of the difference there.
- toyg 12y agoOffice is the real cash cow, what users really want. Everything else can be emulated away, but no accountant will ever work without MSExcel, no lawyer will work without MSWord, and Outlook is still the best integrated mail/calendar tool. Exchange and SQLServer are profitable, but they don't provide the same amount of lock-in and revenue that Office does. However, this won't continue forever, especially with the move to mobile. I'd argue that giving away Windows Server would be a good move to try and secure the Office monopoly beyond the next five years.
- Demiurge 12y agoI think what might work is a free shell version, that can only run custom apps and which can be admined from a purchased Windows Server.