MS price cut receives cool reception

Microsoft's decision to slash the desktop price of its thin client software by almost half has provoked a mixed reaction from the channel.

The move follows intense criticism of Windows Terminal Server from thin client technology supporters who complained the software was too expensive and complex.

Andrew Robins, business development manager at reseller PNC, said: 'It has been a long time coming because the pricing was prohibitive. It is still an expensive option compared with other computing environments and the claim that thin client computing is cheap to adopt is still unrealistic.'

Another source said he was initially bullish about the decision, but would defer judgement until details of the pricing changes in the UK were revealed. 'It could be a purely cosmetic change,' he said.

But Robert Royce, sales director at Management Software, said: 'We think it will make a difference to the thin client market and we already have some big tenders that the pricing change will make a big difference to.'

Until now, companies were required to buy an NT Workstation 4 Licence as well as an NT Server Client Access License for each desktop computer.

The Workstation licence will be replaced with a Terminal Server Client Access Licence, which has ERP of $109. In the UK, Microsoft confirmed the Terminal Server CAL will have an ERP of #90.