Microsoft to Limit Capabilities of Cheap Laptops

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145719/microsoft_to_limit_capabilities_of_cheap_laptops.html

by dhs • 18 years ago

25 32 18 years ago

smanek• 18 years ago

To recap: Microsoft says that if a producer wants cheap window's licenses, they have to limit the specs on their umpcs (screen < 10.2 inches && hd < 80GB && ! touchscreen).

This is a good thing.

If a consumer wants, e.g., a umpc with a touchscreen, they will be forced to get a linux one. Getting more people to try linux (and giving the linux hardware an intrinsic edge), is probably one of the worst things microsoft can do to itself and one of the best it can do for linux.

halo• 18 years ago

I think that's an optimistic way of looking at it. Another way is that the people who create these devices will just limit their specs to be below Microsoft's requirements.

I think this is amongst the first time MS has directly had to respond to Linux as a threat on the desktop though.

qwph• 18 years ago

If I had a ULPC, and I really needed to run Windows software on it, I'd be tempted to try running Wine.

http://www.winehq.org/

rbanffy• 18 years ago

Sadly, the onky consequence that springs to mind is that there will be no devices above the spec. As much as the hardware makers may want to sell devices, they will want to maximize the number of units sold and the simplest way to do it is bundling windows.

Again, it's Microsoft againt progress.

olefoo• 18 years ago

I hope you're right; but this does look like an attempt by an entrenched monopolist to limit competition by killing an emerging market.

Too bad we don't enforce the laws that we have on that topic.

etal2• 18 years ago

So, two possible motivations come to mind:

1. This is part of the push for Vista over XP -- computers than can run Vista must run Vista, otherwise, XP is offered to avoid forfeiting the market to Linux.

2. This is a precursor to a campaign to cast Linux as a cheap operating system for low-quality computers. Hardware manufacturers can't resist offering these Ubiquitous Linux PCs, but if there's this extra incentive to keep the specs tight enough that these things can't quite be used as general-purpose computers, that can theoretically trap Linux for consumers in a sort of technological ghetto.

Or, since the left hand and right hand appear to be barely on speaking terms inside Microsoft these days, one hand might really be earnestly pushing for #1, while the other hand cackled and bought in based on #2, and thus they agree.

pg2• 18 years ago

Wow, just like the old Evil Microsoft. They forgot something, though: Apple is no longer a negligible force. I wonder if this move will ultimately backfire.

pmjordan• 18 years ago

Hmm. Somehow, I can't see Apple ever producing an "ultra cheap" computer. I hope you're right though. Who knows, maybe they'll make something 2-3 times the size of the iPhone... and a third of the price?

SwellJoe4• 18 years ago

I'm always greatly amused (and a little confused) when anyone mentions Apple as a force of good in the face of Microsoft.

What, exactly, did Apple ever do to make you believe that they are a benevolent force in the technology industry?

pg2• 18 years ago

All I meant here was that they're a competitor. So if Microsoft gratuitously breaks some range of devices, users will have an alternative.

But Apple is a more benevolent force than Microsoft in that they owe their market share to the quality of their products rather than to taking over the PC standard from IBM.

jimbokun• 18 years ago

"What, exactly, did Apple ever do to make you believe that they are a benevolent force in the technology industry?"

Make really nice products.

utnick• 18 years ago

These Ultra Cheap PCs already have these limited capabilities... thats why they are 'ultra cheap'. Sounds like a non story...

SwellJoe4• 18 years ago

Only a non-story if you believe ultra cheap PCs will continue to have limited capabilities. This is Microsoft's way of insuring that the low-cost machines remain limited enough to where the price of Windows doesn't make the system significantly more expensive for the consumer than Linux. Luckily, the cat is already out of the bag to some degree...the Eee PC has been quite successful in its Linux incarnation.

etal2• 18 years ago

It's interesting that the limited specs don't mention RAM or processor speed, and don't rule out solid-state drives. A small screen and 40-80 GB storage could be a pretty sweet machine, with or without a touchscreen -- the price for these laptops could just as easily drop to $99, where the cost of Windows is a serious problem, or rocket up to $800, adding wild custom hardware and tweaking the OS significantly to accommodate it. This looks like a move that could have a ton of unintended consequences.

metatronscube• 18 years ago

Yeah we all know that!! Its called 'Windows'

xirium• 18 years ago

The lack of touchscreen interoperability will be a major limitation which will encourage open source adoption.

Unfortunately, current client trends are counter to Microsoft's strategy. Firstly, people are buying laptops rather than desktops. Both are getting cheaper. Secondly, Microsoft follows the classic monopolistic tactic of racheting prices. Successive versions of Microsoft software a typical more expensive despite initial costs already being re-couped. These trends create a situation where the cost of an operating system and pre-installed applications take an increasingly large share of the retail price. This creates a third trend of laptop manufacturers who opt-out of the "Windows tax" and only supply units with tailored open source software.

In two years, we'll probably have a device which is a mix of laptop, mobile telephone and Nintendo DS. It would be a clamshell design with two 11 inch screens with the bottom one being touch sensitive. You cannot rely on Microsoft to support such a device. Nor would it be viable to include Windows. So, such a device would mostly be used with open source operating systems.

This design has already been tried. Unfortunately, it was quite a few years ago and it was a commercial failure. However, since then, the technology has improved, the cost has fallen and the volume of people who only want to run open source software has grown significantly. This would make a similar attempt much more likely to succeed.

It is understandable that such a trend would adversely affect Microsoft. Therefore an attempt to steeply discount Windows on limited hardware has two benefits. It creates an artificial divide between premium hardware and almost disposable devices where Windows is viable on both. Secondly, it reduces the inclination for low cost manufacturers to abandon Windows.

ashu• 18 years ago

This company will never mend its ways. I hope (and I know it may just be a hope what with its billions of cash reserves) it dies a really painful death for trying to be against progress almost all the time. Control freaks.

eznet• 18 years ago

Once they secure their position, I wonder if MS will start imposing comparable constraints to the future OLPCs (which they should have never been allowed to put their grubby hands on)? Also, I wonder who in the world their PR dude is and if he sleeps most all days... In any case, they really should be working on improving their public appearance through their policies rather than trying to impose restrictions on their potential customers. Dumb.

tptacek• 18 years ago

This isn't "evil", it's basic market segmentation. Microsoft doesn't want to limit the capabilities of any device, but if it sets the price of XP to a level that works for ultra-cheap vendors, it surrenders a vast amount of money to companies like Dell.

Like any business, Microsoft wants Dell to pay what XP is worth to Dell, and Asus to pay what XP is worth for the Eee. It can't simply charge one amount to Dell and another to Asus. So instead it uses arbitrary specifications to create a category of XP license that is unattractive to Dell and cost-effective for Asus.

You can argue about the ethics of this up and down, but when you start looking for it, you see that we're awash in market segmentation. Often, the most egregious examples of it actually have consumer benefits: take airfare, where the total ripoff fares I pay for last-minute business travel effective subsidize tickets for tourists who would not otherwise be able to fly.

JeffJenkins• 18 years ago

Information Rules is an excellent book going into details of how markets work in information economies where the marginal cost of a product is near-zero. It covers segmentation, lock-in, network effects, etc. ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/087584863X/ )

Kaizyn• 18 years ago

This might offer consumers a cheaper alternative to buying Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate and 'downgrading' to XP for new licenses of XP. That way, you get a cheap, Linux-ready laptop along with your OS license.

Create• 18 years ago

It is simply the abuse of monopoly [and THAT is illegal]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel

Microsoft to Limit Capabilities of Cheap Laptops

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