Continuing with my When Does an Operating System Cost Too Much line of thought, I began wondering if computers are actually getting cheaper, or if the cost is just getting juggled around.

Sure, every year, you get twice the computer for the same price as a year before, but that’s only the hardware side of the story. It seems to me like that cost is just redirected into paying for the software.

Honestly, no matter how many improvements Microsoft makes to Word isn’t it still just a word processor. Aren’t those improvements actually just fixing problems that exisited in the last verision of the software? When do we shut the case on the word processor and consider it solved? Same goes for the spreadsheet, and how come a web browser (a piece of software just as complex and useful) is free when we pay over a $100 for just a spreadsheet and word processor?

For that matter, is it fair to charge for an operating system? You don’t sell a car and then charge an extra premium for the engine that runs it, although that sort of tactic is something that would be associated with car salemen before it would be with computers.