But then, MS is still making a couple bucks off the sale, rather than nothing if the computer came with Linux or XP Pirate pre-installed. Does MS make any money off a full XP install past the original license? Nope. Until they start the yearly maintenance fees, they only make money off the original sale.

Not living in Thailand etc, I don't know if you can buy PC's out there without an operating system already installed. However, having seen what Gates is up to, I'd say that he's trying to do there what he's done in the US/EU and make every 'readily available' off the shelf PC come with Windoze already installed.
If this is what XP Lite is destined for (to be preinstalled) then I can't see any tech savvy Thai putting up with it for long, and eventually a reformat and reinstall of another operating system, be it a pirated full copy of an M$ OS or a Linux OS. Either way M$ lose out. Sure, he'll make a few $'s on the initial sale, but after that, nothing.
To me, it smacks a little of desperation on Gates' part as he can slowly see his (imagined) gloabal domination slipping away.

pongmaster, yes you can by PC's here with no OS or Linux pre-installed at almost all computer shops.

I think MS's motivation here, apart from making a quick buck on the government's program is to get new computer users to have Windows as the first OS they experience.

Let's face it, some of them may eventually end up going over to Linux but the majority will stick with Windows, MS will then make big bucks if the piracy issue is resolved and these users have to shell out for future OS's (Longhorn?) and software (Office eg).
On the other hand, if Linux was the first OS they experienced probably almost NONE of them would then switch to Windows, and I think it is this potential loss of future revenue that is the motivation here.

Also, having a whole bunch of new Linux users running around, showing all their friends their new PC with this great FREE OS with loads of great FREE software, no appreciable threat from virii and malware etc is something which must surely strike terror into the hearts of Bill and his bank manager.

Still sad for computer users though,

mark

ps Am I the only one who thought of Microsoft Bob when I heard XP-Lite?

Linux is Logical.. its that simple.. I am going to get my brother on linux soon, he does not have his own computer where he is living now, and I am going to hunt one down for him, slap Slackware 10 on it, and tell him to have fun..

FREE LEGAL OS VS. Pirated OS.. umm, I would all for them stoping the pirate issues, because once people start paying for their OS, they will want that FREE OS.. b

Thats nice! Here in the UK, you are stuck with XP home on every prebuilt machine, and then, you have to pay £20 to get a copy of the OS rather than just a recovery cd!

Let's see what programs would end up being run:

Explorer
Internet Explorer
Office (keep in mind, only 1 document open at a time. If you want to copy and paste, then good luck going from one document to the other while keeping your spot in IE!

Or:
Explorer
Internet Explorer (window 1)
Internet Explorer (ad window)

Or:
Explorer
Firefox
Office

At least with the Gecko engine you don't have to worry as much about the program # limitation because of the tabbed browsing....

Mulitasking is a dream in Linux, having four (or more ) windows to go back and forth with, playing MP3's in one, doing word processing in another, having LQ open in one, and your mail open in another..

That is great, and it amazes me.. It does not slow down your computer one bit..

Why use Xp-Lite, when I bet its still slower than linux?

Really? £20? A friend of mine bought his PC from PC World (what a mug; I did advise him not to, but there you go) and he wasn't even offered a full copy of XP. He got stuck with one of those crappy rescue disks that're about as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

I think that being able to get a PC with no OS or the OS of your choice preinstalled (as they apparently do in Thailand) is really cool - wish it was like that here, then the staff in computer shops might have to actually learn something.

yeah i like going into comp usa and asking the people there if that pc over there is fully compatible with modules that come built into the linux 2.2 kernel and then hearing their reply.

At least people in Compusa know something about linux, PCworld staff usually say something like "you what?" At which point I find the OS section, pick up a box of the only linux they seem to have (suse 8.0 - a bit outdated!) and show it to the member of staff.

If you have linux in stock, you should really have someone who knows what it is!

ive not been able to find a quote... but aparently, MS have said somthing along the lines of....

There is a Feature Built into XP starter edition, that helps keep a user organised, and keeps the desktop un-cluttered, by making sure, no more than 3 programs can crowd the users desktop.

so you see... its not crippleware... its a new feature !
i sure hope it isnt patented.. cant wait to start coding that into the linux kernel.

It's funny though, when i go into compusa or staples and ask if that computer is compatible with linux 2.2, the guy pauses for a while and then says. "This computer comes with Windows XP though."

Really? £20? A friend of mine bought his PC from PC World (what a mug; I did advise him not to, but there you go) and he wasn't even offered a full copy of XP. He got stuck with one of those crappy rescue disks that're about as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

I think that being able to get a PC with no OS or the OS of your choice preinstalled (as they apparently do in Thailand) is really cool - wish it was like that here, then the staff in computer shops might have to actually learn something. [/QUOTE]

Dell lets you get a desktop without having to pay for Windows (Either Home or Professional!)

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=04&l=en&s=bsd

Dimensions start at $319US
OptiPlexes start at $429US
Precision Workstations start at $849

They call the series the n series. They come standard with FreeDOS installed, and the reason why they have FreeDos on is because there's some law requiring that all computers sold from major companies have to have an OS of some sort, and disks to go with the OS, so they decided FreeDOS over other distros. It's all gravy for me though, because hey, it saves anywhere between $100 to $200 just for having regular Windows XP Home.

Edit:

I lied, sorry. The Precisions come with RedHat, and here's how I got my ideal Dell computer priced out:

$14,527

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...#bottom_anchor

Keep in mind, I really wanted to get the card for external RAID as well, but the dang setup is "incompatible" with my demands! Also, I could crank up the price a few hundred more dollars, but I decided to go with speed over quantity

Anywho, this would be able to kick any Windows computer's ass for Doom3, especially since Windows can't use more than 4GB of memory, and this has double that in addition to the four 15,000RPM hard drives it has in it!

As a side note: Cut-down Windows will boost piracy - Gartner from The Register.

It seems that the only way to upgarde XP-Lite is to buy the full retail copy of XP Home. So to beat piracy, Microsoft are making their users pay full price for 2 copies of the software they are currently getting for a mere fraction of the price.

Some marketing genius at Microsoft has just signed the death warrant for our distros. How can we possibly compete?

lol, i was at frys today and my brother wanted a computer for his room for internet and homework and stuff. so i showed him the lindows box they had. then, my dad asked a sales guy about it and he said "no, this computer is very bad. it only has 128mb of ram. thats the minimum for windows. it will be pretty slow."

for the record, lindows was pretty snappy.