Even though Microsoft has lots of money, sometimes there are better ways to solve problems than just throwing cash at them. It seems Microsoft is bent on only delivering software from their own servers, when really, they could be using BitTorrent. It would keep them from making stupid decisions like this:
Microsoft plans next week to charge a nominal fee for Office 2007 Beta 2 downloads, in a move that runs counter to the practice held by most software companies.
Consumers who download the 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 will be charged $1.50 per download, beginning next Wednesday at 6 p.m. PDT, a Microsoft spokeswoman said.
Wake up and smell the coffee! BitTorrent, or even services like RedSwoosh (if Microsoft felt better about paying something for the service) would eliminate these problems. And as a downloader, I’d prefer them anyway, because I can download faster in most cases.
Please don’t pay the $1.50 to download the beta – it’ll only encourage this ridiculous behaviour!
Read: CNET News.com
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