On Thu, 12 May 2005 10:26:29 +1000, "Michael C"
wrote:

"Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote in message
...
Q. "How does MS justify that cost; maybe takes a quarter to make for
them?"

A. Microsoft spent billions of $$$ to develop Windows XP. The cost to
manufacturer the CDs is irrelevant since they expect a return on
their
massive investment. Also, ongoing improvements to Windows XP,
in the form of "Service Packs" and "hotfixes", are absorbed by
Microsoft
and are offered free to the consumer.

Did we ask them to spend billions rewriting an OS (win2k) that didn't need
it?

Michael


They didn't "rewrite" it for XP per se.
They tacked on a few new "features" and continued developing
the OS as planned.

The thing is that it WASN'T a "massive investment" to a
company making so much profit and it's quite possible for MS
to survive on their past profits without ever charging
another penny for software.