Windows XP Starter Edition Review

Digitalommm writes "Paul Thurrott has a story on the latest developments on Windows XP Starter Edition. There are some very good points that the Linux community could adopt. An example is end-user training videos such as how to use a mouse." This is an optimistic, even glowing look at the Starter Edition, which even for Thurrot was not available for unsupervised use, only demonstrated by Microsoft for him. (For using-a-mouse videos, I would suggest also Roblimo's book Point and Click Linux .)

Comments

Nothing to see here

[Prince Vegeta SSJ4]

Please let me know when the come out with Windows XP FINISHED edition, so maybe we have a chance at something better

Re:Nothing to see here

[akadruid]

I know this is a joke, but it's a serious point. From reading slashdot it seems people don't understand why Microsoft have done this. Security, Piracy, etc, none of these things have anything to do with it.

It's all about getting new users into the Microsoft habit. They're like drug dealers, who offer the first hit free. In the west, the market is already sewn up, and your schools are educating your children that Microsoft is the only way. But out in India, Thailand, China, and so on, there are many millions of people who will get their first computer in the next 5 years. XPSE means these people will be getting their first hit free.

Microsoft don't want to sell Windows on shelves, they want to bundle Windows. Bundled Windows, taken for granted Windows, gives them Power. Power they can use to sell the things that really matter: big bucks corperate licenses, OEM deals, and so on.

With XPSE they will extend their awesome power over the 'long tail' of non-'power' users.

Review, my arse

[gowen]

Thurrot was not available for unsupervised use, only demonstrated by Microsoft for him

Sorry, but in my book that doesn't qualify him to write a "review", or anything like it. The word that should be used is "glorified adverts". People who write reviews must be allowed to experience what they're reviewing, and form critical opinions from that.

Re:Review, my arse

[wankledot]

The word that should be used is "glorified adverts"

Which is exactly what everything Paul writes can be described as. He's a shill, pure and simple.

Mouse Usage 101

[CaptainBaz]

Click here to find out how to use a mouse!

What? Eh? Oh.

This could be dangerous!

[TildeMan]

Yes, admittedly some people need to learn the most basic of skills, such as how to use a mouse. But the people at this basic level should not then be expected to know how to keep their computer completely up-to-date and patched, or even why that's important! Given how many problems have come out of MSIE recently and how most new users primarily want to use this magical 'internet' thing, this is a huge risk.

There's really nothing more reliable for support than having a friend who knows what he/she is doing anyway.

training video??

[jxyama]

please. giving credit for a training video on how to use a mouse is a bit off the mark. learning to use a mouse is beyond using windows or linux. it's basic computing.

for the price/time involved with making/watching such a video, why not provide a fool-proof "play/experiment area" mode of the OS where you can do any mouse movement/clicking and it won't permanently affect the computer system at all? of course, it will still let you drag, click, open, etc. but it won't permanently alter the files, system, etc.

afterall, the best way to learn to use the mouse is to actually use it, not watch a video. this way, a novice user can play with the mouse to heart's content without fearing "oops, the system is no good because i moved something" kind of a situation.

do food processor companies deserve the credit for providing a video on how to plug in the power plug?

Max. 3 programs

[RikRat]

"The product can run three programs at a time. For those families, this is exactly what they want. That's a great experience for them." Right... exactly what they want. They want to run Explorer.exe, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Wor-- wait, close an application first! "One of the big criticisms about XP Starter Edition is that it can run just three applications simultaneously, so I was curious to see what it would do if you attempted to launch more than three. In this case, the system displays a notification window telling you that you can only run three applications. The notification roughly reads as, "With Windows XP Starter Edition, you can run three programs at a time. To open a new program, please save your work, close one open application, and open the new application again." Nice work! And I guess the 800x600 max resolution is also "exactly what they want". Bah.

mouse usage

[lkcl]

i know it sounds archaic, but i have watched no-skills mouse users and it's quite serious. they:

1) play "hunt the cursor" because of poor eyesight and lack of experience with visual on-screen clues

2) hold a mouse with two or less fingers

3) move the mouse around tepidly and definitely not straight such that the cursor movement bears little relation to on-screen movement

4) moving the mouse around in order to locate the cursor itself.

5) let go of the mouse and watch the mouse itself not the screen in order to press a button on it - result: mouse moves...

the use of a mouse is something that is taken for granted. try using your mouse with your OTHER hand for a few weeks to see what i mean (if you are not ambidextrous of course).

try also upping the cursor accelerator and click-speed to absolute max in order to simulate lack of coordination.

and then: don't you bloody dare write another application with many-leveled drop-down and drop-sideways menus ever again!

Re:I'm sorry...

[magefile]

Why aren't touchscreens commonplace? Google for "gorilla arm syndrome" sometime.