Microsoft To Sell Windows For $3

Microsoft is innovating. After trying its hand and failing miserably in the gaming and music player markets with the over-hyped and pathetically performing XBOX 360 console and Zune Player, Microsoft has finally decided its next target. And it has devised a painstaking method to go about it.

So what does a company which already has a billion users try to do? Go for a billion more, of course. Microsoft announced a brand new initiative that will make the company's software and technologies available to the world's most needy users at virtually zilch cost. This, in a bid to raise its worldwide user base from one billion users to two billion users by 2015.

Critics say it's Microsoft's way of competing against Linux. Governments of a number of countries have always been inclined towards the low cost alternative of Linux rather than Windows. And this effort from Microsoft is touted as the software giant's attempt to lure the governments into its own Windows based products. And the price tag? $3 for a Windows Edition!

Microsoft's new initiative has been christened Microsoft Unlimited Potential. Under the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program, Microsoft will offer low-income consumers around the world, a heavily discounted version of Windows XP Starter Edition, Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, as per this ZDNet report,

The $3 price includes the software license, while backup discs and documentation will cost extra. In order to be eligible, governments must pick up at least half the tab for the PC, though the software can also be used on refurbished computers, which can cost as little as $50, Microsoft said.

These software will be sold to the governments of countries who would then load it on PCs for the students and consumers to use. The distribution of software is strictly through the government, and only to those who are in the bottom 15 percent of the population, financially.

In case you think, this is a part of Bill Gates' philanthropic efforts, it doesn't seem like. "This is a business, not a philanthropic effort," said Microsoft Senior Vice President Orlando Ayala. But with an annual turnover of over $45 billion, this business initiative is not going to affect the bottom line anytime in the near future. If it's not philanthropy, it doesn't seem like it would help their business either. Either Microsoft is just desperate for doing something different, or they have run out of ideas.

And well, don't be surprised if your ration shop starts selling versions of Windows Vista soon.