Microsoft is getting ready to release a cheap, easy-to-use version of Windows XP for developing markets.

Windows XP Starter Edition–an inexpensive version of Microsoft’s flagship operating system that does not contain as many features as the standard version–will begin shipping on PCs in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in October, said Maggie Wilderotter, senior vice president for the worldwide public sector at Microsoft.

All fine, though further reading tells another story-

Wilderotter said final pricing for Starter Edition has not been determined but noted that it will be the company’s “most affordable operating system in the market.” Reports have pegged the price of the Thai version at about $36.

Too bad WE can’t go down to the corner Wal-Mart and pick up a copy of Windows XP for $36, hmm? This kind of thing might have led to wholesale smuggling into the U.S., but then not too many of us can read and write in Thai.

Low prices could help combat piracy, Wilderotter added.

Ya think? It only took someone at Microsoft 22 years to figure that out, right? So much for ‘artificial intelligence’…