In an effort to mimic the success of prepaid phone plans in the developing world, Microsoft is leading a group of PC technology companies to implement the pay-as-you-go paradigm in the computing arena.
Using Microsoft’s FlexGo software technology, a customer can buy a computer loaded with the Windows operating system then purchase prepaid cards or pay a monthly subscription fee at a cost similar to using a computer at a local Internet cafe, Microsoft said.
When the usage time ticks down, a customer can go online or to a local retailer to buy more minutes.
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The pay-as-you-go model lowers the initial costs of buying a PC by 50 percent or more and the consumer owns the PC after a set amount of minutes are purchased, the companies said.
Source: Reuters
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