MS to sell XP+Office for $36....in Thailand

[Pradeep]

Amazing how cheap XP can become when faced with the Penguin. Of course XP with activation and Office are available on any street in Bangkok for around US$10 anyway.

"In order to compete with the Thai government's plan to sell a million cheapo Linux PCs, which we covered earlier, Microsoft did some fancy footwork on pricing. And on activation.

According to the Journal, Microsoft said it would sell WIndows XP and Office at a piffling $36 a PC.

And Microsoft also agreed to make specific Thai versions of Windows XP, IE and the Media Player.

But here's the real stunner, aside from the price. The Vole also removed the need for product activation for Windows XP in Thailand, at the government's request."

http://theinquirer.net/?article=11058

 

[Buck]

What sort of economic value does US$36.00 have in Thailand? I remember The INQ comparing the Indian Rupee with the US dollar and they showed why Windows stuff needed to be greatly reduced in price. Basically, the US retail price for MS Office was equal to a years wage for many Indians (or something that dramatic).

 

[Pradeep]

"Bangkok households, and those in the richer provinces of Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, and Samut Prakan earn an average of Bt27,514 (around USD$650) monthly, and spend Bt20,598 (around USD$480). However, nationwide the average is Bt13,418 (USD$320) and Bt10,908 (USD$220). Overall households in Bangkok earn and spend more than double of their provincial brethren. These differences are even more marked when one considers the extremes in income, with a vast majority of farming families in the North and East earning considerably less and a highly cash-rich elite and upper middle class ( a tiny proportion ) accounting for much of this spending."

http://www.asiamarketresearch.com/news/000243.htm

 

[Buck]

So, Microsoft should see the obvious -- very few people can afford MS anything at US prices.

 

[zx]

If we can make Microsoft cut prices on it's products in countries where people do not have the money to afford it's software, I wonder if we can make pharmaceutical companies do the same...

 

[Buck]

If we can make Microsoft cut prices on it's products in countries where people do not have the money to afford it's software, I wonder if we can make pharmaceutical companies do the same...

Pharmaceutical companies do sell their products at reduced cost to countries that cannot afford it. Hence, the reason why many people visit such nearby countries in order to purchase their needed prescription at a reasonable price. The trouble is that those same countries also sell pharmaceuticals that should be avoided.

 

[Pradeep]

I imagine that one of the reasons that prescription prices are so astronomical in the US is that the insurance companies will pay for those high prices (minus the co-pay). How else can Zyrtec be sold for about US$10 in Australia and US$80 in the US? Keep in mind that in Australia, you can't advertise prescription drugs on TV. That must account for some of it too.

 

[Santilli]

Wonder if taxes on prescription drugs are anything like the gas taxes in Kalifornia?
s

 

[Pradeep]

Prescription drugs aren't subject to sales tax in the US. I dunno if there is extra tax on the manufacturers tho.

 

[Santilli]

Maybe the companies figure that we are responsible for the 100 million in testing charged by the government, then we ought to pay for that cost, added onto our drugs.

s

 

[Tannin]

Prescription drugs in Australia, povided only that they have been approved by the appropriate board, are heavily subsidised. Hence the $10 price, I daresay.