<div dir="ltr">Wow, infinite funding. The mind boggles at the prospect of a blank cheque for any organisation.<br><br>Interesting observation Ken although if you discount the price of the OS, the machine is still far too cheap.<br>
<br>We had a good laugh on another list about the future of this per-device contract .. consideration was given to licences on potential devices such as virtual machines, licences on ultra-small devices such as portables, usb keys and licences on devices that would never run another OS such as a linux proxy server such as EduPASS. In the end, it would make more sense to do an audit and licence what has been used, not just the potential of a device to run the OS. <br>
<br>Perhaps this will go the way of the milk that I was once mandated to drink each day at school, pyramids of goodness that had been warmed in the sun and found a ready target at the school incinerator.<br><br>Say, did you spot the interesting typo in the press release? The department will deploy with the CASES rollout both Vista 2008 and "Sever 2008" .. ouch!<br>
<br>Regards Roland<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">2008/9/6 ken price <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kenjprice@gmail.com">kenjprice@gmail.com</a>></span><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Could it be that the Windows cost has been paid centrally in your State?<br>
<br>
"The $23 million three year deal covers Microsoft product licensing<br>
for 164,000 devices and accompanies a hardware refresh that begins in<br>
2008."<br>
<a href="http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1582266183" target="_blank">http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1582266183</a><br>
<br>
Alternatively - I'm not sure what happens in Vic, but some states have<br>
an annual per-device payment that schools pay. Over three years this<br>
may well change the overall total cost of the two versions.<br>
<br>
I'd be a bit surprised however if the central contract was to cover an<br>
infinite number of devices - the Rudd initiative would, one assumes,<br>
have increased the number of computers by an amount that may not have<br>
been known at the time of contract negotiation.<br>
<br>
kp<br>
<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"><br>
<br>
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:21 AM, Roland Gesthuizen<br>
<<a href="mailto:rgesthuizen@gmail.com">rgesthuizen@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Mark is right, this is very odd pricing. The ACER Aspire one WIndows XP<br>
> version is priced at least $150 more on some of the overseas websites I<br>
> checked. The hardware is diffent but not remarkably so. From what I could<br>
> see, the CPU's are similar except the linux version comes with a more robust<br>
> 8Gb flash memory drive with no moving parts and 512MB of RAM, the Windows<br>
> version comes with 1Gb of RAM.<br>
> <a href="http://www.cnet.com.au/laptops/laptops/0,239035649,339290036,00.htm" target="_blank">http://www.cnet.com.au/laptops/laptops/0,239035649,339290036,00.htm</a><br>
><br>
> If WIndows XP costs $250, does this make the laptops only $60? Whilst users<br>
> can still purchase a copy of WIndows XP from Harris Technology, perhaps Mark<br>
> is right to spot a goldmine for Windows XP licence purchases. Something<br>
> doesnt sit right and I am suspictious of what might be going on.<br>
> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/5m8xj8" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/5m8xj8</a> (Buy XP at HP)<br>
><br>
> I would hate to point the bone but if a seller is pricing the different<br>
> units much higher than is reasonable or fair (price gouging) or if they are<br>
> selling a product at very low price with the intent of driving competitors<br>
> out of the market or to create a barrier to entry for new competitors<br>
> (predatory pricing) then what they are doing is probably quite illegal under<br>
> anti-trust laws.<br>
> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_gouging" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_gouging</a><br>
> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_pricing" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_pricing</a><br>
><br>
> "He who pays the piper can call the tune". In any case, users can pick the<br>
> cheaper laptop and still pick their own operating system, golly they can<br>
> even downgrade fr. Good competition drives prices down, not market<br>
> manipulation by an oligopolistic industry. We already have Linux running on<br>
> our OLPC, eeePCs and library terminals. Not a big deal, it works.<br>
><br>
> Regards Roland<br>
><br>
> 2008/9/5 Donna Benjamin <<a href="mailto:donna@cc.com.au">donna@cc.com.au</a>><br>
>><br>
>> On Fri, 2008-09-05 at 14:06 +1000, Mark Kelly wrote:<br>
>> > I trust discussion of Rudd money is at least partially relevant to your<br>
>> > eLearning plan, especially planning your implementation strategies.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > The panel UMPC from Acer is a cute thing - and cheap. You get lots of<br>
>> > change from your Rudd $1000.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > We got one to play with and see whether it can stand running Win Vista -<br>
>> > our standard platform in 2009.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > 6 hour battery life! Not bad...<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Anyway, the interesting thing is the pricing:<br>
>> > $313 ex with Windows XP.<br>
>> > $469 ex with Linux.<br>
>><br>
>> Ermmmm... are the specs on the machines the same?<br>
>><br>
>> > Now isn't that really interesting - Linux is free, and Windows costs<br>
>> > negative $156 dollars!<br>
>> ><br>
>> > I'm gonna buy 10,000 copies of Windows and make a fortune...<br>
>><br>
>> --<br>
>> Software Freedom Day 2008 <a href="http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/melb" target="_blank">http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/melb</a><br>
>> A world wide celebration of<br>
>> Free and Open Source Software Melbourne event at The Hub@Docklands<br>
>> and the community behind it. 11am - 4pm, Saturday 20 September<br>
>><br>
>> _______________________________________________<br>
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><br>
><br>
><br>
> --<br>
> Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College<br>
> <a href="http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au</a><br>
><br>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change<br>
> the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead<br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
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> eLearning Mailing List kindly supported by<br>
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> Association Inc<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
</div></div>Dr Ken Price MACS ACCE Professional Associate.<br>
President, TASITE<br>
<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">_______________________________________________<br>
<a href="http://www.edulists.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.edulists.com.au</a> - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe<br>
eLearning Mailing List kindly supported by<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College<br><a href="http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au">http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au</a><br><br>"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead<br>
</div>