Microsoft Develops XP 'Light' for Thailand 551
GoatJuggler writes with this Bangkok Post report that "Microsoft announced plans to develop a discounted, slightly crippled version of Windows XP for Thailand."
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Microsoft Develops XP 'Light' for Thailand
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You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Funny)
Revolutionary!
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:4, Funny)
Or is that the part that is cut out?
Jeroen
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is done all the time. Take, for instance, the Quadro line of cards by nVidia. You are buying an intentionally crippled card everytime you buy a GeforceFX. Same hardware, sans a couple switched transistors and a slightly modified BIOS. In other words, they made the Quadro, and then crippled it to be the GeForce.
It's certainly not a tactic that only Microsoft employs. Indeed, most firms that sell both to the "individual consumer" and businesses do it. Singling out Microsoft as an evil corporation because they're employing intelligent (and in this case, non-monopolistic) business practices is stupid.
Basic economics. Literally, they taught it at the very lowest level economics course at my school.
-Erwos
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Informative)
Unfortunately, you left out the explanation of the economics. I've been curious about this for some time. Let me give it a shot, and tell me if I'm wrong.
Basically, there are two ways to make profit. If you price your product cheap (small profit margin), you don't make as much per unit but you'll probably get more sales. If you price it expensive (large profit margin) you make more per unit but don't likely sell as many. The "crippled version" approach takes advantage of both by using two markets: inexpensive vs better quality/features.
The unintuitive part is how can they sell the same product, with extra work put in to cripple it, at a lower price. Why not just leave it uncrippled and sell for the low price? The answer is that the crippled version is partially subsidized by the expensive version. You'd lose all of the bigger profit from the expensive version (since there wouldn't be one), so you'd have to sell a lot more at the cheaper price to make up for it. Having high quality at a low price will probably give you more sales, but perhaps not enough to make up the difference, especially because they are two different markets with different customers.
Looking at it another way, it makes sense to have products for both markets (cheap vs quality). If you didn't use the "cripple" approach, you'd actually have to design and build two different products. Using the "cripple" approach, you only have to design and build one system. The extra cost to cripple it is far lower than the cost of designing and building a second product. This reasoning makes more sense when the design and labour costs are high relative to the cost of components (raw materials). Software is certainly a case where raw materials are cheap, most of the expense is in the development.
Is this generally correct? Or am I missing something?
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Informative)
With the crippled version and the non-cripple version, you still require two assembly lines, but they are duplicates for most of the line, and perhaps require only removal of one or two positions to create the cripple versions of your hardware. You save time and money by creating one assembly line and effectively duplicating it for the lesser (or perhaps the greater) version.
You can even do it with one assembly line and some sort of selector programming where every fifth product is the higher level product (assuming it has one-fifth of the sales).
So you save some money on the manufacturing side. You also save money on the R&D side by creating two cards with only minor differences vs. creating two completely different cards.
It's pretty much the same as producing a car with a tape deck vs. cd player. The research is much the same, but the tape deck fits in the same slot as the CD player, and any room you would have used for the automatic changer is just extra space.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm serious exactly because they're not "enforcing a different option", they're enforcing nothing -- they're taking stuff out, not replacing it with something else.
Since WMP, for example, isn't replace with WMP-lite.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree with the other posts, I wouldn't call this crippled if it runs the apps, I would call it streamlined. I would be interested in a copy, if they "crippled" out the media players and such. Im sure it still has IE tho, since they wont let you use windowsupdate with Firebird.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Funny)
It's even more restrictive than that! I tried to connect to Windows Update with Mozilla. Not only do they require you to use IE but they insisted that "You must be running a Microsoft Windows operating system in order to use Windows Update."
Depends on what's missing (Score:5, Insightful)
In other words, it's perfectly possible that it will be both "anti-competitive" AND crippled.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Interesting)
It sounds like you want windows XP embedded. For the embedded market, MS lets you pick & choose which parts of the OS you want.
Strangely enough, MS also says that this is completely impossible for the regular version, and that IE cannot be separated from the OS.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Insightful)
No, when you shoot for funny, and get insightful, thats ironic.
When you shoot for insightful, and get modded as funny, THAT is sad.
Re:You mean you can cripple it more? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:With Pantip Plaza, it doesn't matter (Score:4, Interesting)
Still, it's true enough. The government doesn't seem to care at all about foreign copyrights. And these aren't underground operations either. This is all out for public display.
PS. $1US ~= 40 baht.
Slightly Crippled? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Slightly Crippled? (Score:4, Funny)
slightly crippled version (Score:5, Funny)
Boy, how can I buy this. I would much rather have a slightly crippled version rather than the massively crippled version that Microsoft supplied my OEM for use with my notebook.
But Wait... (Score:5, Funny)
-Mr. Fusion
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Funny)
X = ascii(88)
P = ascii(80)
So in MS logic, we will have to substract 11 from both letters because 11 is binary for 3 and this is the third version of XP.
ascii (88-11) = ascii(77) = M
ascii (80-11) = ascii(69) = E
Hence, this version will be known as Windows ME.
. . .
How apropos.
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Informative)
they want you to buy XP Server edition to run real servers
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Informative)
They could make this crippled version connect to an NT server only, with no peer to peer support. This is one way to cripple Windows so it won't get used in businss, but is ok for home use.
Re:But Wait... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:But Wait... (Score:5, Interesting)
There is no technical reason for the limitation, its purely a licensing thing. You know....
3. Profit!
Oh, on another point. I have a network with about 20 computers right now that needed a simple file server, so its got a P3/1ghz server running Windows 95, lol. The stations are all 98/ME/2k/pro. The 2k and pro boxes connect ok because I have file/printer sharing OFF on all the rest. They are more forgiving about connecting to a 9x "server". On a pure xp network, you just dont see the computers over the threshold. They don't exist.
And no, it was not easy getting 95 to run properly and semi secure on a newer box without proper drivers, but it runs well as long as you boot it every month (it runs out of seconds to count at about 39 days and like all 95, will autocrash then). And since it is firewalled off the net (hardware and software) it does the job. Oh, and yes, its even a licensed copy of 95.
Re:But Wait... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:But Wait... (Score:3, Interesting)
I had played with samba and found the performance to be very good, but had trouble getting both 95 and 98 to connect. Now thats not an issue, since all the 95 boxes are gone. I am planning to move it over this summer (too busy this time of year). Had not heard of e-smith, tho, thanks for the lead.
Re:But Wait... (Score:3, Insightful)
I use both, so I'm not exactly trying to sell Linux, but your point is still valid for those that are selling it.
At this stage, I'm more likely to switch back to Mac instead of Linux on the desktop, at least for another year or two. Only use Linux for servers, but still using Windows for the desktop because I love "new, exciting, op
Re:But Wait... (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft Plan (Score:5, Funny)
2.?????
3.Profit!
Re:Microsoft Plan (Score:4, Insightful)
How to have both... (Score:5, Interesting)
How are they going to balance that with creating a light version of XP?
Re:How to have both... (Score:3, Funny)
why do it? (Score:5, Insightful)
because of the complexity of an operating system, reducing functionality was not a simple process and every modification would have to be thoroughly tested.
So why would it make sense to spend more money in making these reductions? Why not just give the standard package? I'm missing something here.
Re:why do it? (Score:5, Interesting)
Looks like Microsoft is finally listening to their poorer customers.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:why do it? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:why do it? (Score:3, Insightful)
Because if the standard package was much cheaper in Thailand there'd be massive pressure from other customers to get the same price, and lots of grey-market trade. Somehow crippling it, maybe making only Thai system menus avaiable (currently I believe all language versions use the same code and most of the same files), for instance, would make this a different produ
Re:why do it? (Score:3, Interesting)
Unfortunately, this will probably sell decently (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Unfortunately, this will probably sell decently (Score:3, Insightful)
While Thai-language Linux may be relatively well developed, all of the international versions of Windows are quite well done and have been for a while now. While features alone may allow for a user to sw
Thailand... (Score:5, Funny)
...where the ILoveYou worm was named MeLoveYouLongTime
Slightly Crippled? (Score:5, Funny)
Slightly Crippled?
Yeah, it comes pre-installed with 14 viruses.
Slightly Crippled?
It's product activation is 30 days expired.
Slightly Crippled?
It's the latest version.
Slightly Crippled? .NET
They wrote it using
Slightly Crippled?
But it comes with a free Frogurt.
Damn... I could keep this up all night.
Re:Slightly Crippled? (Score:5, Funny)
But it comes with a free Frogurt.
Owner: Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse!
Homer: [worried] Ooooh, that's bad.
Owner: But it comes with a free Frogurt!
Homer: [relieved] That's good.
Owner: The Frogurt is also cursed.
Homer: [worried] That's bad.
Owner: But you get your choice of topping!
Homer: [relieved] That's good.
Owner: The toppings contains Potassium Benzoate.
Homer: [stares]
Owner: That's bad.
snipped from snpp.com [snpp.com]
Wait for it! (Score:5, Funny)
(Not too unlike this one)
What's the difference? (Score:5, Interesting)
Is it going to have fewer M$ programs bundled with it or what? And if it is, what the hell isn't too tightly integrated for them to remove? Solitare and pinball?
Re:What's the difference? (Score:5, Funny)
Hello? Remove solitaire?!?! Solitaires random number generator powers all the XP security features.
Re:What's the difference? (Score:3, Interesting)
Becase they're not going to take out any more functionalities, they'd just block them.
Do you realize that XP Home is just a couple of DLL away from XP pro? A complete guide to convert XP pro from XP home is out there.
It's more economical to block them rather than taking them away.
Addiction (Score:5, Interesting)
In France, tobacco companies have started selling packs of cigarettes containing only 19 cigarettes instead of 20. A "crippled" pack of smokes in a sense. Why? so that those who can't afford full-size packs since the latest price rises (read: kids and teens) can buy the 19 cigarette pack and get hooked.
Sounds like Microsoft is doing exactly that with poor countries: snare customers then pull on the knot. "buy our cheapo limited software, then when you need more functionalities, it'll be a lot more expensive to ditch Microsoft and go for free-software than pay for the Microsoft upgrade".
But I guess it's business as usual, all companies do that sort of thing, not just Microsoft, I'm not shouting evil-M$ here. But I do hope the Thai government sees through the trap
Re:Addiction (Score:3, Insightful)
It would be more shrewd for them to sell a 20 pack that is subdivided into 4 mini-packs. That way a group of friends could all pitch in to by 20 cigarettes, and then they could divvy out the mini-packs of 5.
Dan East
Re:Addiction (Score:4, Interesting)
No, but it keeps the price of a pack under the psychological limit of EUR 5. Over that price, studies have shown that people are much more reluctant to buy.
Re:Addiction (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh give me a motherfucking break.... (Score:4, Informative)
Try to pay at least some attention next time you're in the convienience store and you'll see pretty much every commodity works this way - those fishsticks, the glass of jam, the block of cheese.
They all reduce size. 1000g -> 900 -> 800 -> 750 -> 700 -> 600 -> 500 & new "big-pack" of 1000. Why? Because people pay a lot more attention to changes in price - changes in weight or volume go fairly unnoticed.
Of course in this case it's pretty obvious, since they're few and easily counted. But it's the same thing. People in general have a price they find "acceptable" for a pack of cigarettes, regardless of the price of the individual price per cigarette.
It's one of the small irrationalities of the mind, and the manufacturers are catering to it. To go from there to this being some directed attack on kids and teens is quite simply hogwash. There's more than enough legitimate complaints to make against them, without grasping for straws.
Kjella
Re:Addiction (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.no-smoking.org/july03/07-25-03-2.htm
note, however
"The law also prohibits sales of so-called "children's packs," which have less than 19 cigarettes and popular among youths because they are cheaper."
also
http://fr.news.globalink.org/248182.shtml
for more about the so called "Children's packs"
1500 baht...? (Score:3, Insightful)
so exactly what will be the "reduced functionality"?
i'd bet it will have something to do with hardware compatibility.
The missing feature in the "Light" version (Score:5, Funny)
Fighting Piracy For Dummies (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Fighting Piracy For Dummies (Score:4, Insightful)
the current prices for them is like if microsoft was asking 3000$ for copy of windows to run on something that you already paid your arm, leg, lungs, both kidneys and liver for.
.
Re:Fighting Piracy For Dummies (Score:5, Insightful)
The point of this effort isn't to stop piracy, and Microsoft knows it won't. The problem is that the Thai government is setting up a program for the development of a very cheap computer, and they want to distribute a legitimate operating system with it. Since they weren't going to pay Microsoft's asking price, there was the potential of a very large number of computers being distributed without a Microsoft operating system. And even assuming most of the buyers replace the preinstalled OS (Linux, whatever) with a pirated copy of Windows, it still would have the potential of creating a substantial, new base of computer users not running Windows. This plan heads off that possibility. Whether they replace it with a pirated full version of XP or not, anyone who buys this thing is going to be using Windows, and that is what matters to Microsoft.
1500 baht doesn't buy much... (Score:5, Informative)
Thailand's People PC project is a government effort to try to get the price of a PC to be affordable for the average person there. Microsoft's contribution to the project is its willingness to sell both Windows XP Home and Microsoft Office for 1500 baht... US$35-40. Uh oh, that's a drastically lower price then MS is charging the rest of the world, and MS doesn't like to have that kind of inconsistency.
So, that's why they're working on this "light" edition that will have a few things less than XP Home, and therefore be a different product that MS can price seperately.
Of course, the OSS folks can hop in here and point out that going with Linux would cost them 0 baht which converts to US$0... and that's what Microsoft's worried about. Better to get a little money than to risk getting none at all and letting Linux become the standard operating system in Thailand.
Re:1500 baht doesn't buy much... (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course Microsoft should price products according to the target market, but given the doctrine of first sale, and the principles of free trade, if you can get a product legitimately for 1500 baht in Thailand, then that same product will become available everywhere for the same price.
Now you can either have free trade, or you can have fair regional pricing.
Personally, I'll take Linux.
Re:1500 baht doesn't buy much... (Score:3, Insightful)
This has NO chance of working (Score:5, Informative)
Why would the average Thai pay for crippleware when they can already get XP for next to nothing?
codenamed (Score:5, Funny)
This is the definition of monopoly (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is the definition of monopoly (Score:3, Insightful)
Perhaps its Embedded XP (Score:3, Insightful)
Plus the 'embedded' product line...
Market segmentation and price descrimination (Score:5, Insightful)
EVERYONE uses this strategy (Score:5, Insightful)
1. Senior rates and student rates. They are poorer and can't afford things like park admission. This is a way to get them to pay up.
2. Coupons. Lower income people will now shop at your store. Rich people generally have better things to do with their time than clip coupons.
Microsoft is not special, and you don't need to be a monopoly to 'exploit' this strategy.
A little more on teh story (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft is reportedly developing a "light" version of Windows XP to be aimed at developing markets. This is the word from the Bangkok Post (irritatingly long registration required), which is reporting that the origin of the project is Thailand's own program to aggressively seed homes with computers.
Thailand's People's PC project, initiated last year by the ICT Ministry, has been the genesis of a new operating system from Microsoft Corporation that is now under development, according to Microsoft Thailand Managing Director Andrew McBean. The new OS, as yet unnamed, but a new "light" addition to the Windows XP "family", will be released in limited, selected markets later this year and will offer reduced functionality when compared with Windows XP Professional and Home editions, he said.
Microsoft has to date been very protective of its pricing model, which aims at more or less parallel prices for its products across the globe. When People's PC was originally announced, Microsoft said that it would offer XP Home and Office Basic at an extremely reduced price, signaling the start of the company's willingness to adjust pricing on national levels. Now, however, it looks like the company is going to develop yet another consumer OS version. Why would the company spend additional resources developing an even-less functional version of Windows XP Home when they could simply just sell Windows XP Home at a reduced rate? The most likely explanation is piracy. In developing countries, piracy is a major problem, and the Redmond Giant is likely trying to avoid mass distribution of its fully functional OS by seeding the populace with a less functional, and probably less attractive OS.
Mr McBean added that the first release would essentially be XP Home edition with some reduced functionality, although for future versions there would be a chance of additional or incremental development and innovation. But he also pointed out that because of the complexity of an operating system, reducing functionality was not a simple process and every modification would have to be thoroughly tested.
A release date is not known for certain, but Microsoft Thailand is saying that this will happen, and not before SP2 for XP is released. It also remains unclear just where this product will be available. It's highly unlikely that it will every be available in the West. Rather, this project seems squarely aimed at recent efforts in Asia to build Linux-based solutions for emerging markets.
who would want it? (Score:3, Interesting)
isnt that what they do there?
Micro$oft could GIVE the 'lite' version away and STILL be in the same position.
Easy How-To-Eat-Right OS Chart... (Score:5, Funny)
Full Fat: Windows XP Professional
Regular: Windows XP Home Edition
Lite: Windows XP Family Edition
Atkins Diet: Mac OS X
Fat Free: Linux
Anorexia: *BSD
Red Herring (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe there won't be much at all removed, but MS needs to justify the lower price. Otherwise, if it offered Windows XP Home at dramatically lower prices, some governments may start asking the 64,000 question:
"Well, Bill when we said we couldn't afford XP Home at Z price and considered Linux, you say you can offer it at 1/3 Z price. If that was the case, why didn't you offer that before? Were you gouging us that much?"
Windows XP is already crippled (Score:4, Interesting)
Why is some other version with an insignificant additional crippiling newsworthy?
Jason
ProfQuotes [profquotes.com]
MSFT must be scared (Score:5, Insightful)
Wasn't inextricable integration part of MS defense (Score:3, Interesting)
This is probably to avoid "dumping" (Score:4, Insightful)
If I were in charge of global marketing for Microsoft, I would create a country-specific version for certain target markets (like Thailand). It would be cosmetically "dumbed down" and priced to sell. Of course, any of the features that are not included in the base install can probably be downloaded from microsoft.com in about 30 seconds. You can't be accused of dumping if the product in question isn't sold anywhere else.
thats not possible (Score:3, Interesting)
I see potential... (Score:3, Interesting)
Smaller? I can see it now (Score:3, Funny)
It's all in the registry (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Jeez, this article's pretty scant on details. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Jeez, this article's pretty scant on details. (Score:4, Insightful)
Some other examples (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah. Gosh. supply. Demand. Different markets. Variable pricing strategies. Absolutely shocking. We simply must create laws so that the government can set fair prices for everyone. [wikipedia.org]
Re:Thailand first, the world second (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Thailand first, the world second (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Thats great... (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, as a ardent Linux user and open source zealot, even I admit that Windows XP is a bit more user friendly for beginners. But removing more functionality than already has been removed in XP Home? Gnome and KDE will be more than a match for this setup, I'm sure.
As if Thailand cares anyway, who's going to pay $30 for Windows XP Neutered when you can go down to your local "store" and buy Windows 2003 Advanced Datacenter Server for a dollar?
Re:Thats great... (Score:4, Insightful)
When they have to preload and bundle OSes with their hardware, a higher overhead would hurt them real bad. Which is why, they'd rather prefer something cheaper, even though it may not be the best alternative.
If you ask, how does it make a difference to MS? Can't they sell the same thing cheaper? Then the answer would be no, simply because they'd be pressurized by other vendors in the same way.
So the solution is to come up with an excuse for a price cut, and thats precisely what they're doing.
It does not matter whether or not its got features added/removed. What is crucial is the price cut, and how they've come up with it. And its a means of attracting more OEM vendors.
Re:Thats great... (Score:5, Insightful)
Bingo... Microsoft is lowering the price for Windows XP to this country because if they didn't, their government would start subsidizing Linux-based PCs. This is Microsoft's last chance to make sure that the standard PC there still runs Windows.
Re:Translation: Linux is winning there (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:My question is... (Score:4, Informative)
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr
3. Right-click an empty space in the right pane and select New > String Value
4. Name the new value Use Search Asst
5. Double-click this new value, and enter no as it's Value data
6. Close the registry editor
Re:"Slightly Crippled" (Score:5, Informative)
What do normal users need with a compiler? If you want one you can get one here. [mingw.org]
2) It had no INTENDED remote access services such as FTPD or SSHD.
of course it didn't, that's what Windows Server 2003 is for.
3) I was unable to manipulate graphics.
*gasp* welcome to the world of closed source! Companies actually make MONEY here. You can do basic graphics manipulation using Paint, or you can download The Gimp of course, otherwise you should spring for a copy of Paint Shop Pro [jasc.com] or Adobe Photoshop [adobe.com]
4) I was unable to use my Network Card.
5) I was unable to optimally use my graphics card.
6) I was unable to optimally use any piece of hardware that didn't have Microsoft written on it.
What kind of bizarre obscure hardware where you using? Windows XP properly detects alot more hardware then linux does currently.
It takes for ever to do anything in Notepad as compared to Vi.
Then by all means, download vi and use it. Some people like working with this little thing called a Graphical User Interface.
8) I had practically no system logging to speak of.
Windows XP is a desktop OS, you can find all the logging you should ever care for at Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Event viewer.
9) I was unable to use multiple desktops.
10) I was unable to entirely change the appearance of the GUI.
most display drivers come with desktop management software, or you can use Windows XP's quicklogin features to have multiple login sessions. Part of the reason Windows is so successful is that you CAN'T entirely change the GUI. Windows, at it's core, always looks like Windows, even with a skin applied.
11) I was unable to simply download much of the software needed to render Windows somewhat useful. Even though Gimp and OpenOffice run on Windows and GVIM, refer to number 4.
See my answer to number 4.
12) I kept getting "Access Denied" or something along the lines of insufficient permissions even though I believe I gave myself full rights over the system. On Windows 2000 this can be seen even if you are logged in as Administrator.
Wow, Microsoft prevents you from killing critical system processes! What a shock! Oh no! what ever shall we do?!? Seriously though, the only time i've ever gotten access denied is when a file is in use, or you try to kill a critical system process (except XP, which lets you)
13) I had to reboot fifteen times, and four hours later while windowsupdate.microsoft.com told me I needed nearly a GB of updates. Many of which could only be installed one at a time. 14) Then another two hours and multiple reboots becuase of installing device drivers (refer to number 6) and then updating those from the old drivers that were on old disgarded discs in the closet.
with the default install of XP, there are 50 mb worth of updates + sp1, which is another 30 or so, a far cry from the 1 gb you speak of.
15) I had next to nothing in regards to software and production....
Compared to what you get with the average Linux ISO image.... Windows, out of the box, is a pathetic quadriplegic whose wheel chair is missing a wheel.
Then, Microsoft goes and strips so much "functionality" from Windows XP to publicly admit it's "crippled"? What more can you take from it?
They never stripped functionality, it was never there to begin with. Windows XP is a desktop OS for every day users, not for supergeeks.
Disclaimer: I am not pro microsoft nor am i in any way being paid by microsoft for this comment. (On the contrary, i'm working on an open source Microsoft Windows NT Compatible Operating System called ReactOS [reactos.com] The parent was a blatant troll and i was simply shedding some light on the truths.
Re:"Slightly Crippled" (Score:3, Insightful)
2) Again, home user oriented and I believe server editions have these capabilities. I could be wrong.
3) Not sure exactly what you mean here. Image editing? Graphics programming? Buy/download a program to do it.
4) Get a better network card. Seriously. XP has great hardware support.
5) Vendors usually provide *their* own tools to toy with *their* hardware to make it "optimal".
6) I am