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Cut-Rate Windows 'XP Starter Edition' in Thailand
zlel writes "Microsoft has decided on an official name - 'Windows XP Starter Edition' - for the stripped-down, cut-rate version of Windows that it first began offering in Thailand last summer."
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They already have that - if you acquire them under an academic license it costs a fraction of the retail price... selling them on is tricky (the licence wouldn't actually be valid unless you were an educational establishment) but the spam never mentions that little wrinkle.
Not everyone is so lucky. Microsoft Middle East (based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, overseeing operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, Malta, Egypt and Pakistan) has hardly any content on its web sites (including the Middle East edition of MSDN) in anything but English. Nevermind that Arabic is the official language of the majority of those nations.
Don't be silly. The buying power of $38 in Thailand is much different from $38 in the US.
I'm in Bangkok at the moment actually, for the week. Perhaps some example prices:
1) dinner, with a beer: 80 Baht ($2)
2) 3 star hotel: 1000 Baht ($25)
3) Taxi to the airport: 400 Baht ($10)
4) Commuter train: 10 Baht (25 cents)
5) Recent LEGITIMATE video games: 400+ Baht ($10)
6) Recent LEGITIMATE DVDs: 200+ Baht ($5)
7) etc.
And that's all in Bangkok, not the countryside.
Anyways - if the actually expect people to buy a legitimate copy, they need to at least make an attempt pricing it properly. It's much more convincing to buy the $5 pirate copy of Windows (which you can get in the mall, in the street, you pick) when the legit version is hundreds of dollars! If the price comes down to a sane level, people will consider buying it.
I've got no idea how much advocacy they are doing, but there is a Thai linux group. Their web site includes a library for Thai language support. There is a page (in Thai) about the activities of the Thai Linux Working Group.
In case anyone doesn't know, the parent is spoofing a song by Murray Head entitled One Night in Bangkok.
I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
> The whole reason behind the rebooting problem is the registry, and if MS gets rid of it I'll gladly stop making fun of it. Until then you and the rest of the MS-defender crowd will just have to keep stretching your credibility trying to defend it.
.1 files are renamed to their intended targets, and then the OS finishes its startup.
Almost; the reason is in-use files; Windows can't update them in place the way Linux can, a Windows installer needs exclusive access to files it wants to overwrite. So, an installer makes a series of xxx.dll.1 or xxx.exe.1 or whatever.1 files for each in-use file, then writes a batch file that runs the next time the OS boots. Those
Cheesy, but it works.
Do you have a source for this information?
I found this article that says: "Windows XP Starter Edition will be available in Thailand by September and Malaysia late this year, a Microsoft spokesman told Bloomberg news agency yesterday." In Malaysia, the national language Bahasa uses the Roman alphabet. Many of the Chinese and Indian minorities speak better English than Bahasa. So English is essential in Malaysia; even if they've tried to cripple it the Malaysian XP should be useable by an English speaker.
raw, "pure" RTF doesn't have any of those. what you're thinking of is ".rtf files that other RTF readers won't understand, because MS has decided to "proprietise" the format while leaving the extension the same, just like they did for .doc in the transition past Word95".
Which retard modded this insightful?
Well, you know I haven't RTFA, but since I have written extensively about it in my journal and was living there when it was introduced in response to a million pre-installed Linux machines, I'll comment anyway.
The menus are all in Thai, and cannot be modified, meaning that many installed programs wouldn't appear on the menus or possibly even run. It was only available on the"Eua Athorn" computers, a low cost Celeron socket 370 government program. In fact, though the legal copies could be installed when the computers were picked up, few people did it, and instead had their friend put a pirated copy from Panthip Plaza or similar place on for them.
It was a failure of an idea, and will continue to be. It was designed to start THais on legal software, and move them up to the full versions later. Few bought the idea, beccause it involved changing their old habit for a greater expense, and the brief shadow of government enforcement quickly faded away.
I had great hopes for the million Linux machine program, but alas.
Put identity in the browser.
People generally start smoking because they're young and see "everyone else doing it"
Yeah, thats what the anti-smoking ads say. But in the real world, ask any smoker the reason they started and they'll tell you they were either curious what it was like, or because of side benefits - like in the US Navy (perhaps armed forces in general), and some workplaces, if you smoke, you get quick breaks that you wouldn't otherwise get. Anyone who tells you otherwise either has forgotten how they started, or doesn't think curiosity counts as a reason, and/or just uses the peer pressure BS as an excuse.
Personally, I've liked the smell of smoke since day one. One night I snuck out back by myself with one of my dad's smokes, and tried it. It was delicious.
Nowadays, being the complete asshat that I am, I try convincing people to start smoking all the time. Nobody has ever caved in, except for those who have tried tobacco before, and liked it, but those don't really count.
Now as for inhaling smoke being an unnatural act, think back to ancient times. In order to ensure the best protection, you need fire in your cave/hut/teepee/whatever to scare/smoke off the beasts. Those who could tolerate the smoke used fire, and slept well, breathing in the fumes as necessary. Those who couldn't were more likely to get eaten by bears, or at least have their food taken away. Fire been around as long as the hills, and smoke exposure along with it.
The pleasure of smoking is from the drug nicotine, not from smoking per se.
One could say smoking stirs ancient instincts within us, from those long lost cavedweller days, giving us feelings of comfort. I know if I wake up on one of those nights feeling alone for whatever reason, a nice fat stogie really helps.
In other words, I disagree. You could say the pleasure of drinking coffee comes from the caffeine, but thats not the whole story. You have the aroma, the taste, general oral stimulation, AND the main chemicals, as well as ancillary chemicals that make up the whole experience.
For example, those of you who smoke or have smoked, and have tried chaw/dip/etc chewing tobacco, what was your reaction after finishing? Of course..."OK, now I could sure use a cigarette." Ask anyone on the patch and they'll tell you the same thing.