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Story: Sun puts the pressure on Windows with $25 Java Desktop

Posted by: Rodd Clarkson (Tuesday 9 December 2003, 2:48 AM)

It looks like Microsoft's days of overcharging for software are coming to an end.

A lot of people once asked, including Microsoft, how anyone thought someone could make money from free software. A smart person (unfortuneately not me) responded, "Don't worry about the company trying to sell free software, worry about the company that tries to compete with them on price."

Put simply, Microsoft can't afford to continue charging so much of software that simply isn't worth it. Linux has shown Windows to be insecurity, unstable and poorly designed. Microsoft need to be able to undercut free software, while at the same time maintaining the high returns their investors expect. No easy task.