Microsoft bans netbooks with hybrid storage

From Bit-tech.net -

Microsoft has banned netbook manufacturers from making hybrid storage netbooks (having both SSD and hard drives) when using Windows XP Home. This is in addition to the "maximum of 1GB of memory" already enforced. As of now, it is only the MSI Wind U115 that is affected as it was already in the market. MSI has until the end of June to remove the product from the shelves.

Intel cajoles Microsoft to limit netbook screen size

The Inquirer is suggesting that Intel and Microsoft have conspired, if rumors are to be believed, to keep netbook specs for Windows 7 Starter Edition down to a minimum to benefit the former. Among others, maximum screen size was pegged at 10.2", excluding most VIA-based netbooks with 11" and larger displays, which now has to use the more expensive editions of Windows 7.

Microsoft U-turn to stop Linux dominating ultra low cost PCs

Computerworld UK -

Microsoft plans to offer PC makers steep discounts on Windows XP Home Edition to encourage them to use it instead of Linux on ultra low-cost PCs (ULPCs). To be eligible, however, the ULPCs must have a max screen size of 10.2" (no touch screens allowed) and max of 80 GB hard drives.

The restriction is to ensure that ULPCs don't eat into the market for mainstream PCs running Windows Vista, something both Microsoft and the PC vendors would want to avoid.

Full article here.

Eee PC could rock Microsoft if it got out of Geeksville

The Test Bed is reporting that Becta, the UK agency for schools IT, has recommended schools and other educational institutions to look at alternatives, including open source, before signing expensive contracts with Microsoft to upgrade to Vista or Office 2007. It estimates it would cost an average secondary school some £26,000 to upgrade to Office 2007, and almost as much again for Vista – and that’s not factoring in any hardware upgrades involved.

But for £50,000 a school could get more than 300 Eee PCs complete with Linux software and the open-source OpenOffice suite. Of course, with open-source, bugs are commonplace. While Microsoft software is not bug free its basic functionalities work as expected.

However, the recent successful launch of Linux-based Asus Eee PC has proven that open-source software can actually be reliable. Though still limited, Eee PC's early success is nevertheless enough cause for Microsoft to worry about. While open-source has a long way to go before becoming mainstream, Microsoft knows too well if kids learn on non-Microsoft software they are likely to carry on using it later in life.

Complete details here.

Microsft licensing Windows for $10 with Classmate PC?

According to an old blog post (dated April 09, 2007) in the One Laptop Per Child News site, Microsoft is bundling Windows with the Classmate PC for as low as $10. The article, How about OLPC XO and Classmate PC?, is written by one Luis Ramirez, a member of the committee in charge of the citizen-led campaign One Computer Per Child in Chile

Among others, it claims that:

"Yes, you can order (if you are a school owner, such as the municipality) all your Classmates with Linux. However and here is the surprising news: The selling price is not very different to the windows version, because Microsoft sold the Windows licenses at a very low price, - at least we were told so by the Intel executives we interviewed.

Not sure what they meant by that, but apparently it's around ten dollars (I'm trying to get this info). The key issue here is the ‘popularity contest' (already won by Windows) behind adopting a Linux based system if such a decision will be in the hand of local authorities or even the national Ministry of Education. With all its obvious strengths, Linux is a geek mantra, not a politician or Ministry of Education mantra.

Only extremely visionary politicians have understood that in this part of the word. Thus, after the arrival of Classmate, those advocating for a ‘Linux Generation' produced as a consequence of a massive implementation of OLPC in schools are feeling fairly skeptical, again..."

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Hmm. So I guess that is how Microsoft intends to fight back.