Where's the upsell?

There's definitely something shady going on with this Windows XP EeePC, being cheaper than the Linux version.

In retail, there's something known as upselling - that's where you try and get the customer enthusiastic about buying something more expensive than what they originally intended. Often, a cheap product will be advertised in a catalogue to get people into the store, and then hopefully a certain percentage will choose to pay more to get a better product. Sometimes, if you advertise the cheap product, people will call or come in seeking out the more expensive product.

If Asus were acting normally, under no undue influences from Microsoft, the Windows XP version would always be a little more expensive than the Linux version. Most people would happily pay an extra 5% ($30) to get Windows. It would be an easy upsell - "this is the interface that you're familiar with; it works with all your existing programs". Sure, some people won't care and will save themselves $30. Or a bigger margin; Windows' familiarity will still sell for an extra $50.

Who, apart from Linux users, can upsell based on a bigger SSD and a less familiar operating system? I'd try, of course, but it would be incredibly difficult. That's why Asus is taking that option away from retailers.

Putting the Windows XP price below the Linux price doesn't make sense when you're selling the product. It does when you're being strongarmed by Microsoft (or they make you an offer you can't refuse).

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On the topic of selling, the president of News Corp says that Blu-ray's take-up has remained slow because of a lack of Blu-ray players on the market and in stores.

Bollocks.

There are eight Blu-ray players on the market today, not including integrated with home theatre systems. That is plenty, as most of the major brands have them - Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer, LG, and Sharp.

Blu-ray players are mostly an add-on purchase - someone buys an HD TV, and gets convinced to add a Blu-ray player too. We can add an $89 power board to the sale easily enough, but it's difficult to sell a $599 blu-ray too.

The recent promotion with Samsung giving extra cashback if you buy a Blu-ray player with your TV, has actually sold out our stock of Samsung Blu-ray players, showing that if the players were $150 cheaper, they would sell better.