>> >> I'm sure it costs the same as any other pay-for-tv service too.
>> >> Companies
>> >> see new technology as a way to raise profits for themselves, not
>> >> make things
>> >> cheaper for consumers.
>>
>> > That is self-defeating logic. Due to a property known as market
>> > elasticity, the
>> > returns on investment are the lower, the higher the end price is
>> > set.

>> Not at all:

> Yes at all. In 95% of the cases, new technology is marketed at a 
> premium for a
> considerable part of the product lifetime's curve.

Your examples are good enough in the general case . I'd perhaps 
question the 95% though.
The original example given was a subset which represents a realistic 
and significant enough part of the market where a company introduces a 
new technology that has a clearly lower cost of implementation.

In the case in point the suggested situation was one where a new 
technology makes the ability to provide the service cheaper for the 
introducer and the statement was that companies tend to take the extra 
profit for themselves rather than pass it on to the consumer. Either 
are valid business models :-).

Here's a well enough related current example of one company passing on 
the gains (or some of them) and of another company keeping it entirely 
for themselves and still getting customers.

___________

            http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/908824714AE3CFFBCC257291001541C5?opendocument&utm_source=topnews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=topnews

Two leading hardware vendors, Dell and Lenovo, are quietly selling 
laptops without preloaded Microsoft Windows to Linux customers who 
know where to look, says Lincoln Durey, CEO of EmperorLinux, an 
Atlanta reseller that customises, installs and supports Linux on the 
major-brand laptops it sells.
[[1]] Dell:       ...  Customers aren't saving money by passing up the 
OS license, though. "The Dell price is identical. Windows or nothing, 
it is exactly the same to the penny," Durey says. "I've actually seen 
one-time discounts on the Windows side that are not reflected on the 
Linux side for a week, so you could end up getting the Windows ones 
cheaper," he adds.

...

[[2]] Lenovo:       ... Lenovo, however, passes on a savings of about 
US$40 to customers who order ThinkPads without the Microsoft license, 
Durey says. Currently EmperorLinux sells some T Series ThinkPad models 
without the Microsoft license, but Durey says he has not yet been able 
to order an X series ThinkPad except with the license.

"The nice thing about not having the OS license is that it will lower 
the total cost of the solution," says Randy Hickel, Lenovo's Americas' 
sector leader.

_________________

Personally, if I had to buy a Dell in those circumstances, I'd buy one 
with the Window's OS and then put the COA to one side as a (possible) 
asset.

For some reason people do seem to keep on buying Dell, non standard 
components and interesting pricing (and not just as above*) 
notwithstanding. One of my machines here is a Dell, but I think it may 
have been one that I found :-). Pricing I can handle on a comparison 
basis and I'm happy to buy what seems most cost effective, all things 
considered, as long as there are no hidden costs. But non-standard 
internal interfaces to eg disk drives are hidden costs which will be 
invisible to many buyers. That one will be forced to buy 'original' 
parts for old models at yesteryear + rates due to a manufacturer 
locking you into their system is something a buyer may like to know 
about at time of purchase. [[Sorry sir/ma'am, you can only use brand J 
petrol as the petrol filler only accepts their nozzles]].





            Russell



* eg, and this is only one example

Sticker / advertised cost = $xxx.

Small print:    Only available by standard delivery (from Malaysia)

Standard delivery costs $NZ100.















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