Windows XP Lite

News is buzzing around that Microsoft are going to be launching an ultra-cheap version of Windows XP to try and stem the tide of Linux migration in the far East. Quotes from the BBC News feature:

Microsoft's new software - dubbed "XP Lite" - will feature lower resolution graphics and limited options for networking computers together.

It will also limit users to running three programs concurrently - a far cry from the full version of XP, where the only practical limit comes from the speed of the computer and the size of its memory.

Microsoft said it hoped the new software would also help deter consumers from buying pirated versions of its XP system, widely available in many Asian countries.

Okay. So they want people to buy a deliberately crippled version of Windows XP instead of using a fully-featured pirate copy (or better still, Linux). So they employ programmers to knacker the display, add to the overhead that the bloated OS already has by adding in services to prevent you from running more than three programs (quite how they can poilce that, who knows - a Ctrl-Alt-Delete will show how many tasks are running in the background, and they can't be whittled down to three), and they're going to bugger up the network ability.

Reading this, I can't help but think of Kathy Bates in Misery, breaking James Caan's ankles.

As PCs go, it's not just a step backwards, it's like a stuntman getting thrown backwards on a wire through a wall and down some stairs. They're effectively trying to offer Windows 3.0 with an XP frontend! It'll get bundled with loads of PCs but I doubt it'll sell. I'd find it insulting to be offered something the product of such a hatchet job. Note they'll still be bundling Media Player and MSN Messenger, though...

BBC NEWS | Business | Microsoft opens cut-price Windows