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Can a cheap, stripped-down version of Windows derail the momentum of open source software? Microsoft is hoping it can.
Microsoft is poised to introduce its entry-level Windows XP Starter Edition product in Brazil, according to published reports coming out of that country this week.
The Brazilian government has been a vocal advocate of open source software. Many government agencies there have been migrating to Linux, citing cost savings as the impetus.
Microsoft officials demonstrated this week in Brazil a Portugese-language-optimized version of Windows XP that was stripped down to run on less-powerful processors, according to Marcelo Nóbrega, technology editor with the fourth largest Brazilian newspaper, Jornal do Brasil. Microsoft officials said they are bringing the Starter Edition product to Brazil, Nobrega said, but did not specify the exact timing.
Microsoft officials did not respond to questions on the company's Starter Edition plans for Brazil by the time this article was published.
Once Brazil is added to the Starter Edition roster, Microsoft will have launched locally-optimized versions of the product in six countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia and India.
Microsoft officials have made no bones about their quest to increase Windows sales by discovering untapped markets and creating new form factors. The Windows XP Reloaded marketing campaign, of which XP Starter Edition is one component, is part of this initiative.
XP Starter Edition releases are custom-developed versions of Windows XP that strip out some of Windows XP's features and functionality. Features cut from the various Starter Editions have included support for multiple user accounts; networked printers; the ability to personalize desktops with multiple looks and feels for different users; and support for screen resolutions above 800 X 600 pixels. Starter Edition also prevents users from launching more than three applications simultaneously.
Microsoft has a challenge on its hands in Brazil. There, it sounds as if Microsoft will be going into a situation similar to the one it faced in Thailand in 2003, where it launched its first XP Starter Edition pilot program.
The Brazilian government has launched an initiative called "PC Conectado" (Connected PC), via which it hopes to sell up to one million computers to lower-middle income Brazilians this year. The cost of the PCs will be partially subsidized by the government.
"They (the government) will choose some PCs and take away the taxes so that they can be sold to the lower class. The PCs will cost 1.000 - 1.300 reais ($300 - $400 U.S.) and they have to be assembled by Brazilian companies," Nobrega explained.
"There is a strong influence of open source in the federal government. Right now they are discussing which should be the (operating) system for these computers. Since Windows XP license is expensive, they were aiming for Linux, or a dual-boot solution with Windows XP," Nobrega said.
While Microsoft said it is "aiming to lessen the digital divide in the country, but don't have a plan to guarantee the upgrade to Windows XP Home with discounts," Nobrega noted.
Next Page: What's the Deal With XP Starter Edition?
Last month, the Massachusett Institute of Technology's Media Lab recommended Brazil install open-source software instead of proprietary software offered by Microsoft as part of the PC Conectado program.
Microsoft found itself in similar straits in Thailand. In 2003, in response to the twin threats of software piracy and Linux penetration, Microsoft crafted a bundle of XP Home Edition and Office XP Standard that was customized for the Thai market and available for about $38 (U.S.). The bundle was sold under the auspices of the Thai government's "PeoplePC" project. Some Microsoft watchers nicknamed the bundle XP Lite.
In the summer 2004. Microsoft fielded a new cut-rate XP release in Thailand that was an outgrowth of the PeoplePC project. This release, the first of a family of XP Starter Edition products, included Windows only (no Office). In rapid succession, Microsoft signed deals with governments in four other developing countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and India — to do versions of XP Starter Edition for their respective markets.
In an interview with Microsoft Watch last fall, Microsoft officials maintained the XP Starter Edition releases have nothing to do with piracy or Linux. Instead, they are targeted at "the unique needs of first-time users - people who have never owned a personal PC in the home," according to Mike Wickstrand, a group product manager with Microsoft's Windows division.
"Our team's inspiration is not about Linux and piracy," Wickstrand said. "It's about helping to improve access to technology for first-time users — people who have never bought a PC and are not pirates."
In fact, the target audience for the product "does not have a PC at all," Wickstrand said. "That's where the opportunity lies."
Wickstrand says the features that Microsoft decided to strip out are those that typically would not be required by the types of users Microsoft is seeking with Starter Edition.
"These are not the usual power users. They are non-PC owning families," he explained.
XP Starter Edition releases include Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer, Windows Messenger instant messaging and many of the XP Service Pack 2 security enhancements, officials said. Microsoft also added a couple of features to XP Starter Edition that are not part of XP Home or XP Professional, he said, such as help videos and a tutorial on how to use a mouse.
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