Microsoft: Microsoft Offers Mega-Discount on WinXP to Low-Cost Laptop Makers

Microsoft Offers Mega-Discount on WinXP to Low-Cost Laptop Makers

Ultra low-cost PCs such as OLPC’s XO laptop could end up bundled with copies of Windows OS after all, if Microsoft’s most recent scheme to grab market share works. The company is giving computer manufacturers Windows XP Home Edition at a steep discount to put on ULPCs, in hopes of luring them away from Linux.

In order to be eligible for the price cut, tech firms need to be making low-cost PCs that limit their screen sizes to 10.2 inches and hard drives to 80GB and under. The computers must also not have more than 1GB RAM or a 1.0 GHz single-core processor, and come without touch-screen technology. These limitations help ensure that the ultra cheap laptops won’t eat into the market for mainstream PCs running Windows Vista.

Microsoft will charge $26 for XP in emerging markets such as China and India, and $32 for developed markets like the United States. What do you guys think—will the price cut destroy the inroads Linux has been making into the consumer market? [ ComputerworldUK]

Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows: Mission Accomplished: The State of Windows Vista

Mission Accomplished: The State of Windows Vista
A (Humorous) Address to Windows Citizens

The text of Paul Thurrott’s State of Windows Vista address, as prepared for delivery.

Madam Kroes, Mr. Jobs, members of the open source movement, distinguished pundits, and fellow netizens: Almost five years have passed since I first sat in the audience at PDC 2003 and gazed at the wonders of what Microsoft promised us in Windows Vista. In that time, Microsoft has been tested in ways that none of us could have imagined. The company faced hard decisions about security and functionality, rising competition from Apple, Linux, Nintendo, and Sony, from Google, Yahoo!, and a host of startups no one had even heard of just months before. These competitive issues call for vigorous strategy changes, and I think it’s fair to say that Microsoft answered the call.