[ Thanks to Ganesh
Prasad for this link. ]
Has anyone noticed that hardware prices have dropped so much
that it’s now possible to buy two PCs and load them up with Linux
and OpenOffice.org for the price of a single PC loaded with Windows
and MS-Office? That’s great, isn’t it? But can you, as an
individual consumer, actually buy such a cheap system from a major
PC manufacturer in your country? Yes/Maybe? How about laptops,
then? Didn’t think so.
So, are you thinking what I’m thinking, B1? It’s consumer
protection time!*
This is a letter I sent to the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission, and I encourage everyone to do something
similar in their respective countries.
It’s time to strike the next blow to dismantle the Microsoft
monopoly.
* This dialogue should be familiar to those who watch the
Australian ABC Kids program “Bananas in Pyjamas”.
Copy of letter:
To: The Commissioner, Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission,
GPO Box 3648, Sydney NSW 2001
From: Ganesh Prasad
(address)
10 May 2004
Dear Sir/Madam,
Today, in the Australian PC market, hardware and operating
system software are bundled together with a single price tag.
Consumers are forced to buy the entire bundle or nothing. The
bundled operating system is invariably Microsoft Windows. It is not
possible for an individual consumer to purchase only PC hardware
and obtain an operating system separately from a cheaper source.
This is especially true of laptops.
To be sure, PC vendors allow large corporate customers to buy
hardware without an operating system, but they don’t extend this
option to individual consumers (i.e., the home PC market).
PC vendors must be made to unbundle the hardware and software
components for all consumers and to display their respective prices
clearly. It should be possible for an individual consumer to buy
the hardware component alone, without being forced to pay for the
operating system as well. These steps will help consumers evaluate
their options more knowledgeably and make choices that suit their
budget and preferences.
By way of precedence, French consumer law mandates that the
prices of all components be clearly displayed (e.g., when buying a
six-pack of beer, the consumer is informed of the price of the pack
as well as the price of each can). A similar law is required in
Australia to separate the hardware and software components of a
PC.
After all, today, there exists a real choice of software
(whether in operating systems or office suites). Linux has matured
as a home desktop operating system with Internet capabilities,
e-mail and web browsing software. OpenOffice.org provides a
full-featured office suite that offers comparable functionality to
Microsoft Office, in a far more affordable manner (downloadable for
free, or as part of a Linux distribution).
The argument that selling bare hardware will encourage the
piracy of Microsoft software is bogus. There is a strong community
of computer users who prefer to use Linux and OpenOffice.org. To
label these and other potential users as software pirates is
slanderous. The argument is self-serving, because the current
system only takes away consumer choice and perpetuates the
Microsoft monopoly.
The price of hardware has fallen dramatically today compared to
the price of Microsoft software. At the lower end of the market, it
is possible to buy two “bare” PCs for the price of a single one
loaded with Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. If legally free
copies of Linux and OpenOffice.org are used, it effectively means
it is possible to buy two fully functional PCs for the price of
one. But does the consumer get the benefit of recent
economics??
It is disappointing that the prevailing system perpetuates a
monopoly when the functionality provided by that monopoly is hardly
unique.
I appeal to the ACCC to set right this market distortion through
a suitable directive to PC manufacturers operating in Australia to
unbundle their hardware and software. This move will face strong
pressure from vested interests, no doubt, but I expect the ACCC to
withstand such pressure and do the right thing by the consumer.
Yours sincerely,
sd/-
Ganesh Prasad