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aiolos

Mon 22 May, 2006


micros0ft tries pay-as-you-go approach for Windows PCs

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This is the new approach my M$<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Personally I find it ridiculous,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> but it seems to have caught on in some countries.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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While Microsoft's Windows operating system and software is popular worldwide,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> its relatively high price puts it out of the financial reach of many in the developing world.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> As a result,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> pirated copies of Windows and Office are endemic in some parts of the world,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> with the percentage of PCs running pirated software approaching 90 percent in some countries.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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Microsoft is trying a novel approach to deal with the problem of affordability:<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> a pay-as-you-go model.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Dubbed FlexGo,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> the plan operates much like a prepaid cellular phone.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Consumers buy a FlexGo computer running Windows XP Home at a reduced price from a retailer,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> along with some prepaid access cards.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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Under the FlexGo model,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> usage is timed.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> As PC usage reaches a predefined limit,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> the computer goes into a limited-access state until more time is added.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Users can add more time by purchasing scratch-off prepaid cards and entering the numeric code contained on the card onto the PC.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> The process repeats until the PC's owner has purchased a predefined amount of time on the PC.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Once that occurs,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> all usage restrictions are lifted as the user now owns the PC outright.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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Microsoft has conducted a trial of the model in Brazil over the past year.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> FlexGo PCs were sold through the popular Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza;<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> all users needed to get one was a small down payment.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> The program proved to be very popular with Brazilian consumers,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> and Magazine Luiza reported that sales more than doubled.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Of those who bought PCs using Microsoft's pay-as-you-go model,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> 31 percent said that they would not have purchased them had the FlexGo option not been possible.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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Because of the initiative's success in Brazil,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> FlexGo will be rolled out in Mexico,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> India,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> China,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> and Russia in upcoming months.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>