[Giagnocavo]Michael::Write() - Why not make VS Express free?

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Why not make VS Express free?

I just read that Visual Studio Express will be $49. This is what... $30 less than the usual “Standard” edition (which I can't imagine anyone can actually use :P)?

Why bother charging $49 for the product? $49 isn't much, but it's a huge jump from free. Why free? That way, to evangelise, you can just throw a bunch of free DVDs at people and let them use them. Say, for instance, academia.

With the standard line at $99, doesn't seem like there's much reason at all for an Express version...

Misc. Technology

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 3:37:43 PM UTC

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Tuesday, March 22, 2005 4:42:31 PM UTC

It should be noted that for students and universities, the cost is 5$. With free shipping ;-)

Jeremy C. Wright | jeremyAT NOSPAMensight dot org

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 5:02:46 PM UTC

That just proves my point even more. $5?? That's not even worth it to charge.

Michael Giagnocavo | mggAT NOSPAMAtrevido dot net

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 4:35:49 PM UTC

I wonder if it's to avoid anti-trust law suits? You could make a good case that they are using their near monopoly to stifle competition from companies like Borland if they just started giving it away for free. I would bet they are only doing it to head off law suits not because they are actually concerned about making $5, $30, or $99. Even the enterprise editions after you get the corporate discount are incredibly under-priced considering what's in them. The VC++ compiler alone is worth more than what they charge for the whole suite.

Andy | andy dot canfieldAT NOSPAMgmail dot com

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