Microsoft Developing Windows for Low-End Machines

Jeff writes "According to the Washington Post, Microsoft is developing a version of Windows to run on old machines that currently run 95 or 98. It would be very similar to XP, but run faster on the older hardware. The move is to appease businesses and universities that don't want to scrap the old hardware. This is likely aimed at preventing Linux from gaining market share where MS is currently alienating their customers."

Comments

Re:Something doesn't make sense here...

[W2k]

Of course XP has a load of unnecessary crap in it. That's how people want their OS. However, you shouldn't assume that just because an OS is based on the modern Windows codebase, it won't run on old hardware. My point is that if you shave away the "crap" in XP that won't be of any use in a school environment, offload all heavy tasks to a central server when possible, then remove all the eyecandy and trim what's left down a bit, you will have a Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3-codebase system that runs quite well on an old Pentium or something like it. At least so long as all you're using is Office and IE (or OOo and Firefox...). I tried this myself by slimming down Windows 2000 Pro to the point where it would run beautifully on a Pentium 133. It's quite doable, and would be great for all those systems still stuck on 95/98/Me.