Exact conversion..

1/18/2010

 
Lately, I watched this movie called Rocket Singh.. Felt how well  and true the movie has taken an issue and projected it in a way everyone can relate!!

I wanted to pen down my views on the same topic.. "Buying a computer in India"..

Is it very easy and cheap or too costly and unaffordable??
I first wanted to ask this question to myself. Untill I was living in India, I had a laptop as well as a desktop. In 2003 we bought our first desktop. It was fun to have a computer in my living room. Proud too.. With a dial up connection, it was a double treat. The desktop was an assembled system. Since my cousin owned a computer dealers shop and was assembling computers for the big companies around, we could get a good configuration at a reasonable rate. But until 2years back, I really did not know what is the value of having a legal software.

The operating system was illegal so were the other softwares.. Nothing can be legally updated online. For every update  we had to call a service engineer from some X company and he does the monthly maintenance and charges  a minimal amount for it.. Yet we felt "OK" with it..I never realized the importance of having an original software. All that came to my mind was,when everything is available at a lesser cost, why should I go buy an original one for such a high price!!.. Most of the times I felt proud for my decision too.. But how wrong was I?

I was totally wrong.. When I came to US, for the first time I realized the importance of having an original software in my laptop.. Though  at a price, it was an one time payment for most of the original software.s From operating system to Microsoft Office to Adobe to all other softwares that are required, everything is legal. I can update my software reqularly without any hassle.

Of course there are some software like my Anti-virus which I have to purchase every year and keep updating..So what exactly, I wanna say..

Do u think its any endorsement for buying original softwares.. Certainly a big "NO".

I wanted to analyse what caused this major difference..

Most of the middle man from whom we buy our desktops have duplicated versions of OS. They come for a lesser price compared to the original. The lesser the price, the lesser the total amount, the more satisfied buyer. When one can get a good/better configuration assembled system for 25000-30000(correct me if I am wrong), why would people prefer a higher cost system!!

Also, when a software is available at the exact conversion rate wrt US dollars, obviously its going to be pricy. A simple Windows 7 Home edition costs approx $105 here, the same exact conversion of abt Rs 4925/-  in India. This is for sure Rs2000+ greater than what it is available thru the small companies.. The same exact conversion implies to all the other software..

For an average person in US, the cost of these software are affordable. But for an average person in India the exact conversion is not in the affordable range.. So naturally he/she prefers to choose the less pricy option with a regular maintenance which too costs less..

An grad student with a stipend of $1200 can afford a good configuration laptop with a good financing option. But the same is not possible for a Rs12000 stipend getting grad student in India.. This pushes them for buying a cheaper version.

My say here is
  • India being a giant in IT, we should have more companies initiating similar softwares like these. Let us have our own softwares for anti virus and others. I am aware there  are few now.
  • Biggies like Microsoft and Adobe when having their shops in India can have a reduction in price and not the exact conversion so that it can be affordable for an average person.
I would also wish if companies like these have collaborations or MOUs with Universities in India and give a student version of these softwares at more student affordable rates.. But make sure not more than one copy/student is implied so that piracy can be avoided. By doing this way we can have original software at affordable rates.. I would also suggest to friends who read this. If you have a trustable friend who can buy these softwares for you here in US and you can pay them later, do prefer that option.
You have various deals sites like www.deals2buy.com where good deals on various softwares are always available. Let your friend know who can buy for you.

For the betterment
Jai Hind...
1/19/2010 12:15:37 pm

So much nostalgic.. I could very well relate your computer story with that of mine :) But I had assembled a computer of my own after getting all the genuine hardware. It was a good fun experimenting too...

Yes, piracy is something we all need to think about. Though I have switched to Mac personally, not sure how things are with Windows right now.

Lavi
1/19/2010 09:05:28 pm

Hi Mohan,

Thanks for visiting my blog..:) Yeah assembling has always been fun.. Though I learnt it very late, I had fun playing around and learning..I think wrt softwares the std is still the same atleast at some places.. I wish this changed very soon and fast


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