Subject: Microsoft, again! Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 15:23:12 -0400 Bucks For Bugs By Randy Whitted, TechWeb contributor Microsoft is setting a dangerous precedent by announcing the next Windows 98 "service pack" -- read: bug fix release -- will cost users $89. What we're seeing here is the first instance in the software industry of a company charging a significant sum to, hopefully, improve a product that didn't work right in the first place. As much as I'd like to deny it, what Apple, and even Linux developers, do to innovate in the software industry pales in comparison to the big Kahuna. Microsoft sets the status quo, which is why watching its moves, even if we're not customers, is wise. While I'm not privy to Microsoft's motives, I can guess the company's thinking goes something like this: "We spent a good deal of time and money fixing these problems, and we want to be compensated for our efforts." PC users should then say, "We spent a good deal of money on your product, which didn't work as you said it would, and we'd like the thing to work right at your expense." But here's the catch: Did Microsoft promise to deliver a version of Win 98 that would be bug-free? Do any software developers say they release bug-free software? Of course not. They know, as do consumers, that software will always have problems, glitches, performance issues, and some bugs. No one is immune from releasing buggy software. It's a fact of life. However, how a company deals with its bugs is the true test of a winner or loser. And quite simply, charging users for a bug fix is a dumb move. Imagine if Apple tried to pull this off. There would be a mass defection, public scrutiny, a stock price plunge, and enough ridicule to ruin everything the iMac accomplished. That is why Apple, shortly after confirming bugs in Mac OS 8.5.1, released a bug-fix patch that could be download for free. Those fixes were subsequently incorporated into later shipments of 8.5 -- it's called slip-streaming. It should be noted, however, that Apple's forthcoming Veronica -- Mac OS 8.6 -- is not a bug fix. Sure, it includes several bug fixes, some new drivers, and enhancements, but it is an updated version of the operating system that also offers new features and functions. Because it is an upgrade, Apple is not charging full price. Mac OS 8.6 is expected to be free for recent 8.5 buyers, cost about $20 for a CD, and free when downloaded from the Internet. So, perhaps Microsoft, in its clumsy way, is just putting the wrong spin on this whole service-pack issue. My advice is the company should call it "Windows April 98," ship it in August, and tout the release as having several performance enhancements instead of just bug fixes. At least the consumer could imagine for their $89, Windows was working better than before, instead of simply working the way it should have been in the first place. The implications of letting Microsoft get away with this could be significant for the sectors of the software industry in which there is still competition. To me, Microsoft is saying it still doesn't believe there is any alternative to Windows, and as the dominant OS provider, whatever its says goes. Consumers, the ball is in your court. Linux is free. The Mac OS is polished and ready. Make your move. Randy Whitted is a copy writer/technical adviser at Studeo, a marketing and communications agency in Provo, Utah. The opinions expressed here are strictly his own. http://www.techweb.com/ <http://www.techweb.com/> http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/blank.gif <http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/blank.gif> http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/blank.gif <http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/blank.gif> http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/blank.gif <http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/blank.gif> http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/scoop-bottom.gif <http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/scoop-bottom.gif> http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/arrowright-gray.gif <http://img.cmpnet.com/tw/newsletters/arrowright-gray.gif> <http://www.techweb.com?ls=twb_ibd> http://www.techweb.com