There has been a “starter edition” since XP.
It is only available in emerging markets. Starter Edition is a very cheap version designed to reduce piracy in the third world.
These Skus are all identical to Vista. There is nothing new here. Microsoft haters are just trying to stir up controversy where none exists.
The difference is that now "Starter Edition" will be available world-wide as the netbook default install.
> These Skus are all identical to Vista. There is nothing new here.
That's correct (except for SE note above), and is exactly my point. Microsoft COULD have simplified things considerably, but NO-o-o-o-o...
> Microsoft haters are just trying to stir up controversy where none exists.
I don't hate Microsoft. I use their products at work and at home, and my livelihood depends in large part these days on Windows. I also use Macs, Linux, Unix, etc. They all have their pros and cons. I'm largely OS-agnostic.
And I'm not "stirring up controversy", I'm merely pointing out, "There they go again!"
I'm frustrated and annoyed that they clearly have not learned their lessons from the past 5 years on Vista, whatsoever.
They COULD have a great product, and they intentionally elect not to. That I find infuriating, as a user, and as a computer system engineer and administrator of 35 years.