Tesco Value Software?
Apparently Tesco are about to launch thier own software! Priced at around £20 there will be word processing, spreadsheet, photo editing and DVD/CD burning software. The BBC say that this new line will be launched at the end of the month in 100 Tesco stores across the country, what does that mean? Well it might mean that Microsoft drop their prices to compete…
…more likely, nothing will happen - it will depend on the quality of the software though and it could coerce some people away from pirated versions at that cost. We’ll have to wait and see but I don’t think that the software market will turn into the grocery market any time soon. At least I hope not, otherwise by the time I get a job it won’t be worth my while developing software!
Good Hunting
* that should read won’t be long until we see Tes-buntu - and probably a smiley face at the end!!
That’s a good point, not sure what that would do to the attractiveness of the PCs though…
…not sure that I’d want a PC with tesco’s own software on, but then I suppose that it’d probably still be cheap. I wonder if they’re thinking of taking this any further?
Yeah, this software will be crap. It’ll be like the budget-value-games that you get for £2 in various shops - no substance, no reliablity, and jesus christ think of the lack of document portability! They can’t be using the Office document formats as they’re all closed (I know that OpenOffice can save to .doc etc tho so I imagine there’s some way around it) but… Oh I dunno, I can’t remember enough about the subject to talk authoritivaly (sp?) or even sensibly (tho the latter is due to my brain being f**ked today! Sorry!).
Still, it will be crap. No one should worry. I can’t see it lasting long.
To be fair - i don’ think it will be that bad - I mean really, which home user on word uses functions beyond font changes and spell checking. Possibly a table or insert and image, search and replace at a push - but for a home user - not much else. - they wont touch the business market, but for most people for letter writing you could save over £100 for a product that does the same thing - or save any more if you buy open office!!
Portability will be solved soon, as it won’t be long until the EU (and US government) forces micro$oft to use open document format (basically an xml file).
(Really, i’m only commenting on it because I’m having a slow day - really, I don’t care too much 
)
Are you sure that it won’t touch the business market? Small businesses will snap up the oppurtunity for cheap licenced software that lets them write letters and do a few spreadsheets…
You say that - but then why hasn’t star office (open office with support and better icons on the toolbar) taken more of a market share for small business.
I’m still holding out for google office - now that would be good - have you used the spreadsheet software?? - very good especially cool that you can have loads of people around the world working on the same file (without breaking it) - plus all you need is a web browser - web software - surely the way forward?!
Marketing? Good point though, I hadn’t even remembered Star Office…
I think business will have a hard time working fully online, security fears etc…
Hadn’t really thought about the market aspect (forget that most people dont read the [strike]geek[/strike] articles computer people do) - Tesco does have a lot or marketing umph.
Apps over web - security issues dissapear if a business can host the software themselves - most (mobile) business users will be accessing their company’s file servers via a VPN anyway - so why not send the web based software along the same tunnel.
Saying that - its WEB 2.0, etc. which to develop and get working cross platform is just not fun!!!
I dont think the software is any more ground breaking that open office, except that it has support (i.e star office).
The only thing is that Tesco are planning to sell computers in store as a permenant thing (like competition to pc world) - as opposed to buying in a bulk load of laptops on a pallet and bung them in the middle of the floor and hope people buy them - what i’m getting at, is that they may start pre-installing ability office on thier pc’s.
Interesting eh!
Office is a rip off anyway!
It will be long until we see Tes-buntu!!