Windows Starter Edition to Cripple Africa
OMPUTERS slowly penetrate the less developed nations. Only sheer ridicule can at times prevent this from happening, as Bill Gates once tactlessly demonstared. Possibly in response to the $100 Open Source laptop, Microsoft announced that they will launch Windows XP Starter Edition in Africa around July this year. Yet, do not get excited or raise your hopes prematurely. Starter Edition of Windows XP is very limited, much like the Starter Edition of Windows Vista. To quote an old writeup:
The cut-down software limits the users in a number of ways including number of applications running at once, printing and network abilities. Gartner’s research has pointed out that the lack of features and limitations with applications will be very frustrating for users who may have had access to computers before at school or in cyber-cafes.