As reported by C|Net and discussed on OSNews… the monopoly from Redmond has again, showed their acumen for illogical and exploitive business decisions.
However, to be fair to Microsoft, the press release for XP Starter Edition already contains the following information:
Starting in October 2004, Windows XP Starter Edition will ship on new, low-cost desktop PCs available through PC original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Microsoft OEM distributors in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Language versions will be available in Thai, Malay and Indonesian.
However, it would be kinda dumb to actually use a manufacturer-crippled OS when there are other perfectly viable alternatives available which are the real deal.
May 14th, 2005 at 1:09 am
M$ has always been playing bully, even when its products are substandard. Visit my blog & see my The Heat is On post.
Thanks
May 14th, 2005 at 10:37 am
Microsoft are trying to monopoly everything but it seems that their critics are getting strong also.
Hope to get more alternatives to Microsoft.
Firefox! Linux!
May 14th, 2005 at 1:03 pm
Actually, the strength of Microsoft lies in its efficient marketing strategies, albeit sometimes they can be seen as unethical. I’ve been in the IT industry for more than 10 years and in my earlier years just couldn’t understand how they managed to pull these stunts.
The fact is, Microsoft is a globally-known brand name… and they are recognised. In fact, they are so recognised that Microsoft, Windows, and Office are synonym to computing.
What us technically adept consumers could do is to advocate rival technologies that can perform at par, or even better than Microsoft’s offerings. Sure, the resistance to change will always be there. But most people will listen to common sense once they get over the marketing brouhaha.