Man, this is the classic ‘bait and switch’ as far as I am concerned! Sure, you can use this form of Windows. Just understand that it will not run on modern chips! What the heck is that, Microsoft?

The operating system will not work on computers running Intel’s Pentium 4 processors or the Athlon from Advanced Micro Devices, a public relations representative said on behalf of Microsoft. Instead, it will run on computers containing Intel’s Celeron chips, AMD’s Duron or Geode chips, or processors from Via Technologies.

“When you try to load it onto a Pentium 4 machine, it gets to the processor ID and stops functioning,” said P.R. Lakshmanan, senior vice president of Zenith Computers in Mumbai, India, who tried it as an experiment. Zenith is one of India’s larger local PC makers. Starter Edition for India won’t be released publicly until June.

Selective incompatibility appears to be geared at preventing Starter Edition from supplanting standard versions of Windows XP. Starter Edition doesn’t support the same level of functionality as the standard Windows XP. However, PC makers have to pay only $15 to $35 for each copy, according to various PC makers in these markets. Windows XP Home costs $70 to $80 per copy and the Professional Edition costs even more. [Read the rest]