I recently ordered a new Dell desktop because my laptop seems to have a head injury of some sort. (If it goes to sleep, it won't wake up.)
I didn't want the RAM-hogging, system-slowing Windows Vista operating system, so I went with the option of having XP pre-installed. That's where the genius comes in. For the privilege of downgrading to Windows XP, I paid an extra $150 ... yes, a 25% premium NOT to have the new operating system. And it was worth it to me.
Can you name another product for which people are willing to pay extra NOT to have the newest version? Probably not. (Of course, a Vista machine with 2 GB of RAM is bare-bones, while 2 GB is a high-end XP machine, so it may be a wash.)
But the real stroke of genius is in how Microsoft counts the sales of Windows Vista. When you order a machine with XP, it is actually the high-end version of Vista which allows you to downgrade. Thus, not only does it still count as a sale for Vista, but also increases the revenue for the OS! So the more people like me who want XP, the higher the sales for Vista. Genius! Simply genius.
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Microsoft's marketing leaves a lot to be desired. How many iterations of Vista are out there? Three? Six? Talk about diluting the brand and blunting the brand identity.
ReplyDeleteThe fee though is quasi-legitimate. In effect, you are paying someone to do the job for you. You could have wiped out the hard drive, installed Windows XP as a clean install, add the drivers (hold your breath and pray), and finish by installing the software you want. Instead of taking the time and risk with performing the task, you paid someone to do it.
I agree that your experience offers an insight into some major problems at Microsoft. The company seems to succeed in spite of its marketing not because of its marketing.