Microsoft Develops XP 'Light' for Thailand 551
GoatJuggler writes with this Bangkok Post report that "Microsoft announced plans to develop a discounted, slightly crippled version of Windows XP for Thailand."
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Microsoft Develops XP 'Light' for Thailand
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"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love." -- Albert Einstein
How to have both... (Score:5, Interesting)
How are they going to balance that with creating a light version of XP?
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
What's the difference? (Score:5, Interesting)
Is it going to have fewer M$ programs bundled with it or what? And if it is, what the hell isn't too tightly integrated for them to remove? Solitare and pinball?
Give me a break (Score:2, Interesting)
The pirates will still pirate! DUH
It happened with music. People bantered this whole "when the music companies get a realistic business model and stop charging highway robbery for 1 or 2 good songs yada yada and rest is filler". When iTunes and other services popped up "copyright infringement" (as they candidly call it) didn't stop or slow down. That was just the vocal point they argued for now they will find something else. Before it was fair use. Next it will be "I don't think artist x deserves a mansion so I can judge how much is enough for them" or some crud.
Addiction (Score:5, Interesting)
In France, tobacco companies have started selling packs of cigarettes containing only 19 cigarettes instead of 20. A "crippled" pack of smokes in a sense. Why? so that those who can't afford full-size packs since the latest price rises (read: kids and teens) can buy the 19 cigarette pack and get hooked.
Sounds like Microsoft is doing exactly that with poor countries: snare customers then pull on the knot. "buy our cheapo limited software, then when you need more functionalities, it'll be a lot more expensive to ditch Microsoft and go for free-software than pay for the Microsoft upgrade".
But I guess it's business as usual, all companies do that sort of thing, not just Microsoft, I'm not shouting evil-M$ here. But I do hope the Thai government sees through the trap
Re:why do it? (Score:5, Interesting)
Looks like Microsoft is finally listening to their poorer customers.
Re:But Wait... (Score:2, Interesting)
Try reading the article. Windows XP Home was still too expensive for these users in Thailand. I seriously doubt you'll be able to get it outside of some OEM deals on computers sold in Thailand so I wouldn't get so enthused over this.
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
It sounds like you want windows XP embedded. For the embedded market, MS lets you pick & choose which parts of the OS you want.
Strangely enough, MS also says that this is completely impossible for the regular version, and that IE cannot be separated from the OS.
Re:Thailand first, the world second (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Addiction (Score:4, Interesting)
No, but it keeps the price of a pack under the psychological limit of EUR 5. Over that price, studies have shown that people are much more reluctant to buy.
Re:Jeez, this article's pretty scant on details. (Score:2, Interesting)
My guess is that they are releasing a product with a price point that the market can bear. It kinda makes since economically. The alternative would be to release WinXP Home at the same relative prices that they are selling it for in the rest of the world. And have it not sell because it is too expensive based on the average earnings.
They could just sell XP Home at a reduced price but that would admit both the monopolistic practice of "same product - different price," depending on where you live, that movie studios and others have been accused of doing. Also, people would realize that the marginal cost of each addition copy sold of any software product is so low that the rest of the world will not stand for the prices that they are currently paying. After all, why would you want to pay $100 for a licensed copy of Win XP Home when you know that it is sold elsewhere for $10 and you are essentially paying for digital bits on a plastic disc that cost practically nothing to manufacture. Sure, the programmers have to get paid but doesn't $100 for your copy seem excessive? Therefore, avoid this scenerio and sell a crippled version. [My vote would be to "cripple" it by not including IE ]
I have not verified this, but I would imagine that computer hardware is generally cheaper in that part of the world and legal software makes up a higher percentage of TCO. This is probably just another factor.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree with the other posts, I wouldn't call this crippled if it runs the apps, I would call it streamlined. I would be interested in a copy, if they "crippled" out the media players and such. Im sure it still has IE tho, since they wont let you use windowsupdate with Firebird.
Re:Translation: Linux is winning there (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Addiction (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm serious exactly because they're not "enforcing a different option", they're enforcing nothing -- they're taking stuff out, not replacing it with something else.
Since WMP, for example, isn't replace with WMP-lite.
Some other examples (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah. Gosh. supply. Demand. Different markets. Variable pricing strategies. Absolutely shocking. We simply must create laws so that the government can set fair prices for everyone. [wikipedia.org]
who would want it? (Score:3, Interesting)
isnt that what they do there?
Micro$oft could GIVE the 'lite' version away and STILL be in the same position.
Re:Microsoft Plan (Score:2, Interesting)
Red Herring (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe there won't be much at all removed, but MS needs to justify the lower price. Otherwise, if it offered Windows XP Home at dramatically lower prices, some governments may start asking the 64,000 question:
"Well, Bill when we said we couldn't afford XP Home at Z price and considered Linux, you say you can offer it at 1/3 Z price. If that was the case, why didn't you offer that before? Were you gouging us that much?"
Windows XP is already crippled (Score:4, Interesting)
Why is some other version with an insignificant additional crippiling newsworthy?
Jason
ProfQuotes [profquotes.com]
Re:Jeez, this article's pretty scant on details. (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:0, Interesting)
Re:why do it? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Some other examples (Score:2, Interesting)
So wait, you mean that companies only get to call it a global marketplace when it benefits them?
I guess pure chaos would erupt and the world itself would shatter into trillions of little rocks if companies were forced to either pick a global market or a local market, and were forced to stick to it. None of the current "labor is a global market, we'll hire programmers from 3rd world countries and fire our own programmers" "Oh, but software is a local market. We'll make this area pay 1/100th what the other pays, and give them an inferior product to boot. But it will take 2 years to produce. Oh, and to make sure we can enforce this, we'll create a DMCA protected access control to make sure nobody pays extra to get a copy early and try to use it in the wrong zone, and to make sure that nobody in the 100x zone buys and uses a cheap copy."
But thats ok, after all its Good Old American Capitalism, and in the future we won't have to bother to elect people, since the corporations will just buy whoever they want into the presidency and congress (openly, instead of the current practice of giving money for some reason which can't really be explained but most certainly isn't outright bribery, oh no, giving money to elected people and expecting them to vote your way is never bribery). And just like always they'll declare a new tax cut for the 500 or so people with over $5billion income, and shift the burden onto the millions and millions of people making $10,000 a year, that is, if they're even lucky enough to manage to get a job, what with PhDs taught in US schools on US taxpayers' dimes who then move back to their home country in Umswanigosta going for $5000 a year.
But hey, companies doing whatever the hell they want is all ok with you.
Re:But Wait... (Score:2, Interesting)
There's more to it than that - I'm venturing they're releasing this in hopes that people will purchase something from them, not from the local "vendor" on the corner selling XP out of the back of his autorikshaw. That way they get a little money. The Linux thing is valid, but part of a larger picture.
Re:This is about MS making more $$ (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:But Wait... (Score:2, Interesting)
Jaysyn
Wasn't inextricable integration part of MS defense (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Interesting)
There is no technical reason for the limitation, its purely a licensing thing. You know....
3. Profit!
Oh, on another point. I have a network with about 20 computers right now that needed a simple file server, so its got a P3/1ghz server running Windows 95, lol. The stations are all 98/ME/2k/pro. The 2k and pro boxes connect ok because I have file/printer sharing OFF on all the rest. They are more forgiving about connecting to a 9x "server". On a pure xp network, you just dont see the computers over the threshold. They don't exist.
And no, it was not easy getting 95 to run properly and semi secure on a newer box without proper drivers, but it runs well as long as you boot it every month (it runs out of seconds to count at about 39 days and like all 95, will autocrash then). And since it is firewalled off the net (hardware and software) it does the job. Oh, and yes, its even a licensed copy of 95.
Re:What's the difference? (Score:3, Interesting)
Becase they're not going to take out any more functionalities, they'd just block them.
Do you realize that XP Home is just a couple of DLL away from XP pro? A complete guide to convert XP pro from XP home is out there.
It's more economical to block them rather than taking them away.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:2, Interesting)
This version of Windows has been around for a long time. It is called NT4.
Re:1500 baht doesn't buy much... (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course Microsoft should price products according to the target market, but given the doctrine of first sale, and the principles of free trade, if you can get a product legitimately for 1500 baht in Thailand, then that same product will become available everywhere for the same price.
Now you can either have free trade, or you can have fair regional pricing.
Personally, I'll take Linux.
thats not possible (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:But Wait... (Score:3, Interesting)
I had played with samba and found the performance to be very good, but had trouble getting both 95 and 98 to connect. Now thats not an issue, since all the 95 boxes are gone. I am planning to move it over this summer (too busy this time of year). Had not heard of e-smith, tho, thanks for the lead.
I see potential... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:But Wait... (Score:3, Interesting)
It's all in the registry (Score:4, Interesting)
interesting (Score:3, Interesting)
Kidding aside, I wonder what exactly they plan on stripping out. Personally (as others here have mentioned as well), I'd love to see a version of XP, minus all the GUI tweaks, 'tools' that nobody uses (sans defrag), IE, WMP, and the like. I imagine that, if it's in the least bit operable, and it's available in English, it would see widespread pirating due to the suckyness of XP.
Then again, it might just be their way of saying it's going to have fully implimented DRM
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:1, Interesting)
Interesting.
I wonder why the Quadro line is priced between $500 and $1800 while the GeForce line is priced between $40 and $500.
Those must be some mighty expensive transistors they removed...
To me that means either the professionals who buy the Quadro are being ripped off, or NVidia is losing money on the GeForce.
Re:With Pantip Plaza, it doesn't matter (Score:4, Interesting)
Still, it's true enough. The government doesn't seem to care at all about foreign copyrights. And these aren't underground operations either. This is all out for public display.
PS. $1US ~= 40 baht.