Software Prices!

[Chrono_Wanderer]

LOL... 100%

imo it's way too high. recently tho game prices dropped a bit which i felt is appropiate. i.e. aquanox for sale for ~20CND... not too shabby. but ps2 games like kingdom hearts cost like 70 dollars... it's way too much if u ask me.

about apps... big programs like office is a bit too high. i like the concept of visual basic/c++ learning edition tho. for ~150CND dollars u get the programming books + core program for beginners. true autocad + other circuit design programs are priced way too high... they should follow what m$ft did with their visual studio learning editions.

[William]

I'm a believer that the best protection against piracy is a nice (good) hefty paper manual. Much harder for people to just give a copy of to friends (at least, not one that is anywhere near as good as the original was).

The theory being that each of your customers gives away one copy of the version they bought, friend who receives copy of software sees how they're missing out on the manual; and buys next version to get said manual.

[UtwigMU]

Problem arises when those 1000+ pages books cost 30$ and your software costs in the 4 digit range.

[bibble]

also photocopiers are readily available at places of work...

oh and if they came with manuals then people would just nab them from work as they have 300 of the damm things in a drawer

[William]

Photocopiers require much more effort & time (human time) than copying a disc though; despite the best efforts of the entertainment industry. I've yet to see someone who was happy to go through the rigarmrole of put book on plate, press button, turn page, repeat 500 times.

As for 300 in a drawer -if they were good manuals, then they wouldn't be piled away in a drawer somewhere; the users would all want them.

[Jessterw]

Seriously, ask yourself how many software applications you use the manual for. I think I've only used the one that comes with AutoCAD 2000, that was about it (at least within the past 3-4 years), and only with that one because of the vast changes that were made from previous versions. So I really don't see including manuals being a piracy-stopping action.

[William]

I think that most of the manuals I have for products are crap. The only decent one I have is for my CD writing software (WinOnCD6). I wouldn't want to be without it. I don't have another one worth having. Windows didn't come with one. NAV came with a cheap little booklet. Way back when my email client came with a collection of books, and despite the fact they're out of date, I still wouldn't want to lose them. Is it just me?

[Wombat]

Motherboard manuals: Epox and MSI have good ones that have been indispensible sometimes.

[Novdid]

All of which you can DL as PDF's on the manufacturers site.

[Kooldino]

Originally posted by Jesterzwild

You have to wonder though, if MS lowered their prices on Windows and Office by a good margin, don't you think that some of MS's competitors would balk and make charges of MS trying to undercut them (ala IE vs. Netscape)?

That's a damn good point.

[Technoid]

Hardly......
Staroffice is aprox 70$ when we sell it, and that is a full ver.
MS office is aprox 700$ for a standard version!!

So WHO is the most likely to be seen as trying to "undercut"

M$ has soo big profits that its insane

[Jessterw]

The price of $70 for Staroffice hardly matters. Any price cuts (we're talking major ones, $100+) by Microsoft on Windows or, more likely, Office would be seen as a threatening move to their competitors. Irregardless if there is any merit to charging that Microsoft is trying to "undercut" is the simple fact that almost every single MS competitor will do what ever is in their power to ruin the "beast".

Undercut: to charge less than (a competitor) in order to obtain trade. Obviously charging less for a product (while staying above the competitor) is not undercutting, however the term has been applied to companies drastically reducing said product's price (from a set price over a long period of time, think years).

Also the Standard version of Office is around $500, the Developer version is $799. Also almost anyone can get the Student version of Office for $149.

[WyWyWyWy]

Honestly, should we start another poll on "Who actually BUY software (or licence)?"

[Technoid]

Originally posted by Jesterzwild
The price of $70 for Staroffice hardly matters. Any price cuts (we're talking major ones, $100+) by Microsoft on Windows or, more likely, Office would be seen as a threatening move to their competitors. Irregardless if there is any merit to charging that Microsoft is trying to "undercut" is the simple fact that almost every single MS competitor will do what ever is in their power to ruin the "beast".

Undercut: to charge less than (a competitor) in order to obtain trade. Obviously charging less for a product (while staying above the competitor) is not undercutting, however the term has been applied to companies drastically reducing said product's price (from a set price over a long period of time, think years).

Also the Standard version of Office is around $500, the Developer version is $799. Also almost anyone can get the Student version of Office for $149.

eh....
In sweden we have a pretty high tax and most stuff is just more expensive initially....
I should have pointed that out

and the Studen't version has been verry hard to get to untill a half year or so ago when it became the seller responsibility to check if the buyer was entitled or not!

And personaly, since I'm not a student that feels like fraud....

M$ had a test run of "home" users licence for office for about a halfyear but the system they used was botched bulky and a nuisance for both customer and seller.

If M$ did a "home" licence in the same way as a "student" licence it would be great

[UtwigMU]

Originally posted by William
Photocopiers require much more effort & time (human time) than copying a disc though; despite the best efforts of the entertainment industry. I've yet to see someone who was happy to go through the rigarmrole of put book on plate, press button, turn page, repeat 500 times.

As for 300 in a drawer -if they were good manuals, then they wouldn't be piled away in a drawer somewhere; the users would all want them.

When I was in the army major ordered me to photocopy some English tekst book.

Photocopying books is also a job for lots of part time students or practioneers lots of the time. Although I agree that it's cheaper to buy the book than photocopying it in most of the cases.