I have officially lost faith in mankind... - by lost_soul
CCCToad on 29/1/2010 at 22:18
Quote:
It's funny how people mock Apple for offering image over substance and then the first thing they want to bitch about in a netbook is the wallpaper.
I couldn't care less, I'm never going to own a netbook. Whats the issue is that microsoft is deliberately stripping out basic features(that have been standard as long as Windows has been around) in order to try to get people to buy an Upgrade.
Its an obvious fact that stripping out a feature like wallpaper isn't going to save Microsoft any money: the disc costs the same, the manual costs the same, and the development costs are the same because those features(including the ones heywood mentioned) HAVE BEEN STANDARD FOR YEARS.
Its the equivalent of me tearing out half of a book's pages before I sell it to you, and then offering an "upgraded" edition with all the pages.
TTK12G3 on 29/1/2010 at 22:39
Quote Posted by Renzatic
They didn't look at the box, they didn't do their research. They just went in and bought it, and you just don't do that.
Some people just can't be bothered to do that no matter what. I think it's because they're not planning on using the technology to its fullest potential, so they just want something new and shiny.
Yakoob on 30/1/2010 at 00:33
Quote Posted by heywood
It also lacks DVD playback and XP compatibility mode
WHAT WHAT WHAT? They sell a netbook with a DVD Player that lacks DVD playback capabilities? are you for real?
lost_soul on 30/1/2010 at 01:28
Quote Posted by Yakoob
WHAT WHAT WHAT? They sell a netbook with a DVD Player that lacks DVD playback capabilities? are you for real?
Actually, believe it or not, my netbook CAME with Intervideo WinDVD installed. :) It has no DVD drive and I didn't purchase one, so I'm not sure why.
As far as I'm concerned, DVD is on its last legs. I can get a card the size of a quarter that holds 4 (or more!) times as much data as a DVD.
heywood on 30/1/2010 at 02:01
Quote Posted by CCCToad
I couldn't care less, I'm never going to own a netbook. Whats the issue is that microsoft is deliberately stripping out basic features(that have been standard as long as Windows has been around) in order to try to get people to buy an Upgrade.
Its an obvious fact that stripping out a feature like wallpaper isn't going to save Microsoft any money: the disc costs the same, the manual costs the same, and the development costs are the same because those features(including the ones heywood mentioned) HAVE BEEN STANDARD FOR YEARS.
Its the equivalent of me tearing out half of a book's pages before I sell it to you, and then offering an "upgraded" edition with all the pages.
Your basic rant here is about tiered software pricing, but you've picked a pretty petty thing to base it on.
First of all, I'm fairly certain that Microsoft's primary motive behind Starter is not getting people to upgrade their netbooks to Home Premium, but rather to discourage OEMs from offering Starter on higher priced machines. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if netbook users opt for the Anytime Upgrade, but realistically, who is going to pay $65 to change their wallpaper? If people want it that bad, they can go with Stardock or follow one of the hacks posted around the web.
Second, ALL the differences between the various Windows editions are equally artificial and the same thing is true of pretty much all tiered software product lines offered by everybody. In this case, there aren't even any disc or manual costs involved as these are OEM installs. The cost incurred by Microsoft to "sell" a copy of Windows installed by an OEM on a new computer is near zero and the same is true regardless of what version gets installed. And even for retail copies where there is a manufacturing cost, the DVDs contain all the functionality for the highest edition. That's how Microsoft can offer an "Anytime Upgrade" to a higher edition of Windows 7 without requiring new media or massive downloads.
This pricing & distribution scheme isn't unique to Microsoft; pretty much the whole software industry works this way. Even small time shareware vendors do this - offering free versions for download with obvious key features crippled that are unlocked by paying for a license key. In other words, welcome to the software industry. Tiered pricing actually makes sense when you think more about it.
So the only question left is why did they pick this particular feature to cripple. Probably because (a) it doesn't effect the functionality and (b) it's high profile enough to discourage OEMs from putting Starter on higher end machines.
CCCToad on 30/1/2010 at 02:57
You're reading my argument too broadly.
I don't have anything against tiered pricing: it is what it is, and it allows them to make money. This instance is different because they are g features that were previously in the most basic, "lite" versions of Windows.
You do make a good point though: an important secondary function is that it prevents companies from putting starter on higher end machines. Still doesn't change the fact that the features removed seem specifically chosen to aggravate a purchaser of a low-end machine into paying for the upgrade.
june gloom on 30/1/2010 at 04:51
Quote Posted by lost_soul
As far as I'm concerned, DVD is on its last legs. I can get a card the size of a quarter that holds 4 (or more!) times as much data as a DVD.
Except DVDs cost less than a dollar to replicate and they're cheaper to purchase. Add to that the fact that high-end storage is still inaccessible to a large chunk of potential customers (due to cost) and DVD is here to stay for at least a while longer.
heywood on 30/1/2010 at 16:23
Quote Posted by CCCToad
You're reading my argument too broadly.
I don't have anything against tiered pricing: it is what it is, and it allows them to make money. This instance is different because they are g features that were previously in the most basic, "lite" versions of Windows.
No they weren't. Window XP Starter Edition didn't let users change themes or colors and the wallpapers were limited to "localized" images selected for each market (i.e. Indian users got a picture of elephants). It also limited the screen resolution, originally to 800x600 and later 1024x768. And there were limits on memory and hard drive space, it wouldn't run on higher end CPUs, you couldn't run network services on it, you could only run 3 applications simultaneously, etc. Windows Vista Starter Edition was pretty much the same story. But you've probably never heard of these because they weren't offered for sale here. The Starter editions were meant to be stripped down, efficient, low cost versions customized for emerging markets.
What's changed things this time is netbooks. Back when Windows XP and Windows Vista were released, there wasn't really a market for new, cheap, low capability computers in developed countries. With Windows 7, Microsoft decided to offer the Starter Edition here because netbooks created that market. When they first announced the Windows 7 Editions, Starter was going to have the same limitations as it did in previous versions. The netbook manufacturers lobbied Microsoft and got them to remove or raise some of the more important limits that Vista Starter had, like the 3 application limit, the 1GB memory and 160GB hard drive limits, networking and screen resolution limits. But the inability to customize the UI was one of the limits that stayed.
An iPad in a netbook form factor?
This isn't a netbook. The processor and OS are designed for running touch screen phones. Android is not a general purpose computer OS and you can't even install 3rd party apps on this thing. Seriously, you're going bitch about the limits of Windows Starter and then offer this as an alternative?
lost_soul on 31/1/2010 at 01:55
Well, there's nothing stopping them from shipping a more functional distro of Linux that does allow the user to install their own apps. I call it a netbook, because he said it has a 7 inch screen. I think that 128 megs of ram should be doubled though.
