From: not@this.address.com   
      
   Cash wrote:   
      
   > Stef wrote:   
   >> Luvrsmel wrote:   
      
   >>> I think they are killing it. By not supporting it, they are releasing   
   >>> grandma to take home from the hospital because there is nothing more   
   >>> they can do for her...so they say. And as far as shelf life goes,   
   >>> definitely OS have them. I have an opened can of Windows 98 SE   
   >>> sitting on my ledge and the flies are loving it. ;)   
   >>   
   >> Obsolence is a part of life.  At some point, it becomes uneconomical   
   >> (for Microsoft) to support out-of-date software that was designed to   
   >> run on now obsolete hardware, even if it still works.  Unfortuanate,   
   >> but that's the current world business model.  Microsoft didn't invent   
   >> it. They just have to conduct business under it.   
   >>   
   >> Look at what Adobe is doing with their software:  They're LEASING it   
   >> like a car.  You have to pay monthly (or yearly) to use it. And If you   
   >> don't, it stops working. How long before Microsoft starts doing that   
   >> with their OS?   
   >>   
   >> Stef   
   >   
   > Microsoft have always 'leased' their operating and other software systems   
   > (read the ULAs that comes with the software) - but they only charge you a   
   > one-off fee for the lease.   
   >   
      
   There are legal differences between a license and a true lease.  I was   
   being sarcastic.  Licenses are bad enough.   
      
   What Adobe is doing is not really a lease, per se.  It's still a   
   license, but paid monthly. It's just that their software license has   
   gotten so expensive, people can no longer afford it, and so don't buy   
   the newer versions, just keep using the older ones. (I do.) So, sales   
   are down. And, the result is the monthly or yearly license payments,   
   ad infinitum, to generate a steady cash flow, which in business is   
   everything. Also, it is an inexpensive way to get people and   
   businesses to "buy" their new software. $10 per month instead of $1000   
   all at once. Looks good on the balance sheet. Less expense.   
      
   I doubt Microsoft will follow Adobe's business strategy unless it's   
   really, really profitable.   
      
      
   Stef   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)