It's official: You're now paying much more for Microsoft Windows than some of your potential competitors. Last week, Microsoft confirmed that starting in October, it will offer Windows XP Starter Edition, a cheaper, scaled-down XP, to PC customers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, with two other not-yet-named countries soon to join that list [QuickLink 48757].
How much cheaper? Microsoft won't say yet, but published reports quote retail prices of $40 for a still-very-functional version of Windows XP. The version you're using retails at $499.
Are you getting hosed? Maybe so. But it is the right thing for Microsoft to do. And you should be glad it's happening.
According to Microsoft, this "XP Lite" is both more affordable and easier to use and support than regular XP. It won't handle multiple user log-ins, PC-to-PC home networking, printer sharing or having unlimited windows open at once. It will support Web browsing and security.
Sound like something you could use? You can't have it. Why? Because you're willing to pay for full-blown XP, that's why.
Look -- Microsoft has said for years that it wouldn't offer a Windows Lite. It's doing so now only because people in some markets simply aren't buying Windows XP. With the threat that Linux could start displacing Windows in those markets, Microsoft had to do something radical.
Will it work? It may, though there's no guarantee. Remember, XP Lite isn't something Microsoft's customers demanded. Microsoft's customers were already buying XP. XP Lite was created because of people who weren't Microsoft's customers. By refusing to buy, they forced Microsoft's hand.
And Microsoft wisely did what the market required -- even though those could-be customers still may not go for XP Lite. It's a gamble that might not pay off. But for Microsoft, it's worth a shot.
What does that mean for the rest of us, half a world away? Well, if you compete against companies in Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand, it means those competitors just got an advantage over you: a cheaper, simpler version of Windows XP. It may be a small advantage, but in a globalized economy, every little bit matters. That's the downside.
The upside is that Microsoft is now doing what was once unthinkable: trimming down a product to what users need. After two decades of bloating Windows and insisting that one size fits everyone, Microsoft is finally acknowledging that not all users require all that expensive complexity.
And that's cause for optimism, even if it's based on something that exists only on the other side of the globe. After all, if Microsoft debloated its software for them, why not for us?
You already know the answer to that question. XP Lite happened only because Microsoft was forced into it by people who wouldn't buy the existing product.
And as long as you're still willing to buy what Microsoft is selling, that's what you'll get.
So if you want products like XP Lite -- tighter, less expensive, and easier to train for, use and manage -- you'll have to demand them. And you'll have to back up that demand by refusing to buy software that isn't what you want.
That may mean putting off that next round of upgrades. Or using open-source software. Or getting products from vendors so desperate for sales that they'll deliver what customers need. Or building smaller, more targeted applications yourself. It won't be easy, and it could get ugly.
But we've been lamenting bloatware for years. Now, finally, we're seeing the first moves toward cleaner, more affordable Microsoft software. It may not offer much hope, but it's worth a shot.
After all, people in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand got Microsoft to listen to what they need. Who knows? If we work hard enough at it, maybe Microsoft will listen to us, too.
Home
