Steve Ballmer's bogus threat

[George Toft]

Hi Doc,

Do you have a reference for this claim?  Here's my math:
Number of copies of Windows sold by Microsoft by 1999: 200 million
Average licensing cost disclosed during Anti-Trust trial: $50 (about)
Total revenue: $1 Billion.

I really don't think MS paid that much for their OS development.  
Windows 95 was built by 100 people  (based on an Easter Egg embedded 
in Windows).  Let's say they averaged $60K per year, and it took 3 
years to build: $60K * 100 * 3 = $18,000K.  So it cost about 
$30Million (had to adjust for overhead, SS taxes, benefits, etc).

Here's a link from MS that shows they sold 1 million copies
of Win2K Server (which they get about $750 each):
http://www.microsoft.com/nz/presscentre/articles/2000/Mar15-03-OneMillionPR.stm
So that means they made almost $1 billion in about 1 month time, 
on just Win2K Server.

Somehow, I'm not convinced they are selling it at a loss.  Surely
it is not a profitable as the Server series, but it is still 
profitable.


George



"Dr. Ghastly" wrote:
> 
> Actually, thier OS software sales sells at a loss. They make money on thier
> Office and other software, such as MSSQL 2000
> 
> So selling thier OS at a substantially lower price would just hurt them
> more, and is still an anti-trust violation stemming back fromt he days of
> Rockefeller selling at a loss (on purpose) to drive other companies out of
> busniess.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lee Einer" <appealsman@cox.net>
> To: <plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 6:08 PM
> Subject: Re: Steve Ballmer's bogus threat
> 
> > Hi, Kim-
> >
> > They (MS, the Tyrants of Redmond,
> > etc) could attempt such a thing,
> > but I think that if they tried it,
> > even under the present
> > business-friendly administration,
> > the Department of Justice would
> > hand MS their own procreative parts
> > on a hotdog bun (please God, let me
> > live to see it...)
> >
> > I think there is also a limited
> > extent to which a business can ask
> > it's customers to waive their legal
> > rights- subscription or no, such
> > things are subject to judicial
> > review, tests of reasonableness,
> > etc.
> >
> > Anyway, give it six months or a
> > year, and see. Even if Microsoft
> > takes it on the chin in this
> > anti-trust suit, they will still be
> > selling the Windows OS, under any
> > conditions they have to abide by,
> > because it's the closest thing they
> > have to a stranglehold on the
> > software market. They certainly
> > can't make ends meet by selling
> > their Office suite or their
> > browser...
> >
> > IMHO, anyway. Time will tell :-)
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Lee Einer
> >
> > http://members.cox.net/appealsman/
> > ________________________________________________
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