Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft To Sell Win XP Starter Edition In Russia

Posted by timothy on from the but-not-in-moscow-idaho dept.

Garabito writes "Cnet reports that Microsoft plans to distribute in Russia the low-cost, stripped-down version of Windows XP, called 'Starter Edition.' This release of Windows is aimed at markets in developing nations, and is known for not allowing more than three applications to run at the same time and not being networking capable. This product will not be available on retail, but will be distributed by OEM vendors in new PCs, at an approximate price of US$36. On a side note, the article also states that the MS tax paid by vendors to Microsoft for Windows XP licenses is $70 or more."

3 of 453 comments (clear)

  1. Piracy by Nickolay+Stelmashenk · · Score: 5, Informative

    Being from the former Soviet Union myself, I can attest to the fact that piracy is very rampant, and that this "starter" edition will do little to combat it. People who just want the real thing will have to take five minutes of their time to visit their nearest street vendor and buy the full version for less than $2.

    1. Re:Piracy by bircho · · Score: 5, Informative

      Being from a "third world country", i can attest this isn't true only in Russia. But I think the biggest problem isn't bad people selling pirated CDs that people WANT to buy.

      When you use indian workers to code something three times cheaper, then try to sell it in a country three times more expensive than it would cost if it was built there, something must be wrong.

      US$30 is 5-10% of a programer's salary here. Piracy is a economical problem, not technical one.

  2. Re:Ridiculous by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Informative

    In the town where I lived, a manager of a relatively small (~20 employees) private drugstore gets about $200 a month. This is considered pretty good.