We all know that Windows is expensive. Many have switched to Linux (issues about supported hardware/software, bugs, etc. notwithstanding) because it’s cheap or, even better, free.
In their attempt at convincing people in the low-end market to switch back to Windows, Microsoft has announced the launch of a low-priced Filipino version of Windows XP.
Apart from lowering the cost, the localized version “œbuilds on the Filipino glossary of computing terms put together earlier this year by a third-party software developer and national artist and poet Virgilio Almario, dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.”
To read the whole article, head on to Manila Standard’s “˜Microsoft readies Pinoy Windows’.
I wonder what they will call it… Bintana XP?
8 comments
I’ll bet my money that this just turns out to be Windows XP Starter Edition. There’s the possibility that they learned from the current Starter Edition (three apps at any one time and no networking support? WTF) and improve on it.
They could simply remove IE and/or WMP to lower the cost and keep the “Filipino Edition” still equal to “normal” versions in terms of capability. (Although I’m guessing that won’t bode well with those who want the ease of having everything already bundled into an OS.)
Maybe this will be something like Windows XP N, w/c I blogged about a couple of months ago. But this was for Europe, and the issue was the inclusion of a built-in media player–an antitrust issue, basically.
For our case, it’s most likely crippling of the OS to justify their selling it for a “cheaper” price, when the price is still high and not justifiable at all, IMHO.
I also read about this on TIME–MS was planning to release crippled versions of XP to developing nations to curb piracy. I remember it’s something like what Bit mentioned: the Starter Edition.
I don’t think this “Pinoy” version would take off if it’s a crippled one. That is unless it’s a full-featured Windows with the option of localization in terms of language. Then some educational institutions or die-hard Filipino-linguist user will switch to this OS.
What!? No networking? How crippled is the pinoy winxp going to be? Nowadays, what’s good with a PC, moreso with an XP-loaded PC if cannot connect to the internet? But probably, if you’re techie enough, you might find a way to “expose” the networking feature if it is just hidden somewhere.
I don’t think this marketing scheme will work. Also, a vernacularized OS might look confusing, if not ugly.
Isn’t this the stripped down version of Windows that has already shipped in Thailand/or was it Malaysia, and localized?
vern: no details yet but methinks you are right.
no networking, no peace!