IT Windfall from Vista == Consumer Costs

Alan Zeichick points out the absurdity of the position, touted by Microsoft, that Windows Vista will "generate" \$10 billion in new revenue for the California IT industry this year. Alan observes that IT revenue means that "someone else's costs have to go up" and that it's perverse to "celebrate a software update when its creator boasts that it will increase the cost of IT." Good for those who charge for technology per se, but bad for dentists, manufacturers, schools, restaurants, and others in the large majority of business who do not directly profit from work in IT.