Microsoft has eased the hardware requirements for PC makers to load Windows XP Home on ultra-low-cost PCs to allow touchscreens and larger screen sizes, further prolonging the life of Windows XP.
Larger screens, hard drives and touchscreens are in
While June 30 marked the last day for selling most new Windows XP licenses, Microsoft has made several exceptions for the older operating system, including its use on ultra-low-cost laptops such as the Asus Eee PC, as well as on an emerging class of mini desktops. These devices are sometimes called netbooks and nettops.
Microsoft is offering Windows XP Home Edition to encourage PC makers to use that OS instead of Linux on the low-cost machines, but it places restrictions on the hardware that can be offered.
Under the new terms, outlined in documents seen by IDG News Service, PC makers must limit screen sizes to 14.1 inches and hard-drive capacity to 160GB. ULPCs with touchscreens will also be eligible. Earlier terms set in April did not allow touchscreens at all and limited screen sizes to 10.2in and hard-drive capacity to 80GB. The processors are still limited to a single-core chip running at no more than 1GHz, and memory is limited to 1GB of RAM.
ULPCs are an emerging class of products with limited system capabilities in the £199 to £350 price range. Examples include the Asus Eee PC and MSI's Wind. They are designed for basic tasks such as surfing the internet and sending email, but not for more advanced tasks such as video editing.
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The updated terms, especially the larger screen size, mean Windows XP can be used on machines that look more like standard low-cost laptops. But ULPCs are not only defined by their size, and they remain a distinct product category due to their limited performance, said Roger Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. "You can have a low-cost PC that's not small," Kay said.
The goal of the program is apparently to limit the hardware capabilities of ULPCs so that they don't eat into the market for mainstream PCs running Windows Vista, something both Microsoft and PC vendors would want to avoid.
As part of the new terms, Microsoft also added low-cost desktops to the list of products eligible for Windows XP Home, and it added Windows Vista Home Basic as a second OS option.
Microsoft declined to comment on the matter, saying it doesn't speak publicly about the details of its agreements with PC makers.
Low-cost PC vendors may be pushing Microsoft to keep Windows XP available, Kay said. Linux is another option for ULPCs, but is not yet a viable alternative, according to Kay. "I don't think Linux is going anywhere in the low-cost market," he said. "Linux doesn't really cut it when it comes to compatibility."
Comments
GremlinMo said: Linux Rocks is all i can say lol xp vista are im only using them for gaming but soon ill get rid of them too
Steven Kelly said: Linux incompatible Im currently doing a CompTIA A computer course which involves lots of re-installing of OSes With Windows you need to have all your drivers handy and it takes an age to install the OS updates amp hotfixes etc as well as all the drivers including the Network adapter driver - fortunately I have more than one computer with which to connect to the internet and download the driversLinux Run the OS setup and everything works including the network adapter and all the other peripherals No configuration required Incompatibility Where
Digger said: Reason XP is lasting so long is coz Vista is so fg bad
Jon said: Cool but i like window vista better
Mike Pellatt said: Roger Kay says Linux doesnt really cut it when it comes to compatibility Id like to know exactly where Linux and its applications are incompatible with Windows Except perhaps in OOXML but then again MS Office doesnt comply with the yet-to-be-published final OOXML spec
Beryl said: I just want to take the bloatware Vista off my PC and Install XP Home Vista is slowing up the PC so much taking ages to boot up and shut down and I dont need all the fancy bells and whistles In XP I thinned out irrelevant stuff I didnt need I cant do that in Vista or the whole thing grinds to a halt and has to be reinstalled
Huffster said: Well I dont know which may be the point but is Linux compatible with the drivers for my printer my games my proprietary photo-editing software and so on This may be the case but for the vast majority of users compatibility means plugging it in and it working with all of these things and more
Mike Pellatt said: Roger Kay says Linux doesnt really cut it when it comes to compatibility Id like to know exactly where Linux and its applications are incompatible with Windows Except perhaps in OOXML but then again MS Office doesnt comply with the yet-to-be-published final OOXML spec
PC Advisor said: We were just waiting to see who would spot that first first prize of a special cake to you sir
Arthur Norton said: You cant elongate how long something lasts you prolong it