Exchange Rates Spell High Prices for Windows 7 In the EU 548
CWmike writes "European customers will pay up to twice as much for Windows 7 compared with US users, even though the new operating system will ship without a browser in Europe. Some of the money Microsoft stands to make on the European editions of Windows 7 comes from the weak dollar. Last week, for instance, the dollar fell against the euro the most in a month, hitting $1.41 per euro. For example, Windows 7 Professional, the key retail edition for businesses, will sport a price tag of 285 euros, or $400.60, and £189.99, or $313.84, at Saturday's exchange rate. In other words, EU customers will pay twice the $199.99 U.S. price; U.K. buyers will pay 57% more. And depending on your view on bundling IE, Europe's customers will be paying more for less, with Microsoft's decision to yank IE8 from Windows 7 in an effort to head off EU antitrust regulators, who may still force the company to take more drastic measures."
Fine (Score:5, Funny)
Really, fuck US products. I don't need your music, software, cars, or internet.
In fact, that includes Slas[NO CARRIER]
News for nerds... (Score:5, Funny)
People actually pay for Windows?
Wow.
Re:Fine (Score:5, Funny)
Or are MS suggesting that it costs that much to spell words like "colour" and "flavour" correctly and swap the primary definition for "Hood" and "Bonnet" around?
Re:Huh? (Score:4, Funny)
For an example, take a capital letter L, invert it, and place it next to a lower-case o. The customers is the L. For added realism, put a capital F behind the inverted L and keep adding and deleting a single space between them.
Re:So don't buy it.... (Score:1, Funny)
There are other options these days.
Yes.......it's be interesting to see how well Photoshop CS4 runs on your non-MS/mon-Mac computer.
The same for Linux (Score:5, Funny)
It costs twice as much in Europe as in the USA.
Re:OEM Prices Please (Score:3, Funny)
except for the 50% of people who don 't qualify for the OEM/ education versions.
If your OEM and your installing it on non authorized machines then you will be sued by MSFT it is just a matter of time until they find out.
Re:The same for Linux (Score:4, Funny)
Not if you happen to be Finnish. In that case you need to write it yourself.
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Funny)
Intel and Microsoft and Google are all US companies. I am in the UK. I use all 3 companies products and I also use the world wide web, which an English guy helped design based on underlying code that the US developed. As a Uk developer I sell to everywhere, including Nigeria and China.
What alternative to globalisation do you suggest? That Spanish people have to rely on Spanish made and designed chips and the Spanish version of TCP/IP?
Globalisation, if coupled with a lack of regulation and transparency can lead to abuse. It has also led us towards phenomenal technological change and economic advancement.
By all means lets focus some attention on levelling the playing field and fixing the worst excesses of globalisation, but lets not pretend life would be better if companies were artificially pigeon-holed into territorial markets.
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Funny)
That Spanish people have to rely on Spanish made and designed chips and the Spanish version of TCP/IP?
Actually TCP could be more nicer:
Hola -> Hola Que Tal -> Hola
Exchange Rates? (Score:3, Funny)
Well, if Exchange rates are the reason for the high price, why don't people purchase the thing without Exchange? It was a silly program anyway.
Re:Fine (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Fine (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Can't rape the willing... (Score:2, Funny)
Also here in America French is not a language that is regularly spoken.
You mean Quebec finally sunk into the ocean? Rejoice!
Re:Fine (Score:1, Funny)
not broken, defective by design
Re:Fine (Score:3, Funny)
What country uses A-with-a-hat-on pounds?
Re:Fine (Score:5, Funny)
What country uses A-with-a-hat-on pounds?
Those of us in the tiny mountainous principality of Asshatteryburg, you insensitive clod!
It was originally "Hapsburg," but you know what happens when stuff gets written down without a spellchecker over the years.
Re:Can't rape the willing... (Score:4, Funny)
Also here in America French is not a language that is regularly spoken.
I second this. The French I hear spoken here is highly irregular.
Re:Fine (Score:1, Funny)
Slashdot is intended to be an American forum. As such, Unicode is neither necessary nor desirable. If it were supported, foreigners and trolls would start posting all kinds of diacritical marks and funny symbols and weird junk like that, which is not wanted.
If Europeans want a Unicode-friendly forum where they can use foreign currency symbols and letters with funny looking little hats overtop and whatnot, they can jolly well start their own site. We don't want it here.