Nearly a week ago, I noticed a couple of Internet articles about Microsoft’s decision to sell a combination of the “starter” version of its Windows XP operating system, combined with the “home” version of Microsoft Office, and Windows Live Mail, and Student 2007 (whatever that is) — all for the princely sum of $3. Here is one such article; here is another; and if you do a search for “Microsoft $3″, you can find another dozen articles and blog postings. However, I’m not sure the story has “legs”: after the initial flurry of attention, I haven’t seen any additional conversation.

Of course, one reason for that is that my net-surfing activities focus on mainstream media and blogs that originate primarily in the advanced/developed countries; and Microsoft’s latest offering, unveiled by Bill Gates at a conference in Beijing, is aimed at educators (and their students) in developing nations. It appears to be a direct response to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, which I’ve blogged about a few times recently; and as such, it’s responding to the free software (including Linux) that will be bundled with the OLPC machines.

None of this will have an immediate, direct impact on me: I’m not an educator in a developing nation, and I’m quite content with my Mac-based software. But I still think it’s an interesting development, and one that we should all pay attention to.

For example, I wonder whether the marketplace — i.e., the billions of people in developing nations throughout Asia, Africa, and South America — will see a significant difference between Microsoft’s $3 software, versus the free software bundled with the OLPC project (or, for that matter, any other platform running open-source software). To someone in my environment, $3 is pretty insignificant — barely enough for a subway ride and a single copy of today’s New York Times. But to someone in a developing nation, $3 is a full day’s pay; and I’m not sure I’d want to spend an entire day toiling in a factory or a rice paddy for the dubious honor of using Microsoft software, when the alternative is free software.

In an advanced country, I could imagine someone arguing that it’s important to gain familiarity with Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, because that’s the computing environment you’re likely to encounter when you go to work at General Motors or General Electric or General Mills. But that’s far less likely to be the case in a developing nation; I think it’s far more likely that they’ll continue being exposed to a Linux-based computing environment.

Meanwhile, what’s the motivation for Microsoft? Three dollars barely covers the cost of a floppy and packaging; it’s hard to imagine they’re making a profit on such a paltry sum. Of course, if you multiply it by a billion dollars, and if you reduce the distribution/packaging cost to nearly zero (by distributing the software via the Internet), maybe there is a profit to be made. But far more important, it provides a means of capturing the heart and soul of a billion new computer users, for the greater good of Microsoft in the years to come. So I suppose there’s a good business rationale … and it’s not irreversible: if, in a couple of years, it begins to look like a bad idea, Microsoft can simply rescind the offer.

But even more intriguing: if it proves to be a good idea, will today’s $3 price-tag turn into tomorrow’s $2 price-tag. And will that lead to $1 software … and eventually free software? The possibilities are intriguing.

Meanwhile, what message does all this convey to the advanced countries? If I’m a savvy computer user in North America and Europe, and if I see that Microsoft is providing its software for $3 in India and China, why should I be willing to spend $300 for my own copy of Microsoft Vista and Office? Why not just email one of my friends in India or China, and ask them to get a copy for me? Tenfold (or hundred-fold) price disparities are manageable in a world of poor communication between customers; indeed, even in today’s advanced countries, the guy sitting next to you on an airplane ride may have paid ten times more (or ten times less) than you did for your ticket. But as a large-scale, general trend, it seems to me that if Microsoft succeeds in distributing a billion copies of its $3 software, it’s going to put enormous price pressure on its full-price software products.

Of course, I could be entirely wrong about all of this; and since I have no vested interest in the outcome, I can simply stand on the sidelines and watch as things develop. Meanwhile, if you know of anyone who has actually received the $3 Microsoft software bundle, please let me know.