PC Makers Snub Windows Sans Media Player
Posted by malebolgia on 15 June 2005 - 19:46 · 112 comments & 5759 views
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(6 replies)
#1 Posted by Rudy on 15 Jun 2005 - 19:49
- what a waste of time and money, when will the gov't mind its own business....
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#1.1 Posted by rob.derosa on 15 Jun 2005 - 19:50
- this isnt government.. .its the EU
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#1.3 Posted by rob.derosa on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:06
- ...an inter-governmental and supra-national organisation :p
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#1.4 Posted by TheSarge on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:34
- So.. they're a government.
Any body that governs is a government. If you don't belive me, look it up in a dictionary.
The EU governs many aspects of life in the EU, therefore they are a De Facto government.
End of discusion. -
#1.5 Posted by DeepThought on 16 Jun 2005 - 18:18
- Well, no. Like Rob was pointing out, it's a few separate governments working together in a council, not an independant government.
And I assume if you want to argue semantics, you're using the dictionary definition for "monopoly" which makes the entire MS/EU thing a non-issue. Whee!
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(4 replies)
#2 Posted by rob.derosa on 15 Jun 2005 - 19:49
- makes you wonder why the EU decided to waste all that money getting MS to do this....
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#2.1 Posted by BigBoy on 15 Jun 2005 - 20:08
- Well let's not forget that they got a check for what - 650 million $? That's what they were after, not some justice for the consumer...
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#2.2 Posted by Jugalator on 15 Jun 2005 - 20:34
- "makes you wonder why the EU decided to waste all that money getting MS to do this...."
To make it easier for competitors to compete with WMP, etc.
However, their work doesn't do much if they don't get any assistance from the OEM's, of course. -
#2.3 Posted by Davebo on 15 Jun 2005 - 23:56
- What's next, then? Sue the OEM's? Wait for it..........
It would have been useful for the EU to actually find out what people wanted before going after MS. But then - no big fat cheque... -
#2.4 Posted by mgleason007 on 16 Jun 2005 - 15:28
QUOTE What's next, then? Sue the OEM's? Wait for it..........
No, because there isn't an OEM that's been declared a monopoly.
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#3 Posted by dhan on 15 Jun 2005 - 19:50
- why is this even a news ? everybody with at least a bit of sense (except real & EU) knew that this won't work as nobody likes crippled anything.
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(8 replies)
#4 Posted by lylesback2 on 15 Jun 2005 - 19:58
- i cant believe someone can really be THAT annoyed, over windows messenger, and windows media player built in.. that they would go to this extent to sue microsoft, and make them release a new operating system...
the things people would do for money -
#4.3 Posted by mitodna on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:38
- Windows Messenger installation got some problem i think for me, using MSN Messenger, that Windows Messenger keep launching itself and online, lolz
mitodna -
#4.4 Posted by CoLdFuSi0n on 15 Jun 2005 - 23:03
- then why don't you goto add/remove and remove it?
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#4.5 Posted by Skyfrog on 15 Jun 2005 - 23:26
- Just open it an go to options, then turn off the option to start automatically with Windows and the one that allows it to run in the background. After that you should never see it again.
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#4.6 Posted by Kushan on 16 Jun 2005 - 08:28
- Windows messenger is a pain in the ass, sometimes even when you untick the option to start with windows, it STILL starts, but in the background so you can't see it (not even on the taskbar) and then for whatever reason, should your Connection get reset (happens once in a while with all ISPs), you sign into MSN and get signed out because of windows messenger, then you gotta exit it via the task bar.
To make matters worse, you can't just uninstall it via add/remove programs :/
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#4.7 Posted by Colin-uk on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:27
- you can, its one of the first things i do when i re-nistall windows
you have to click on the "add/remove components" tho ... -
#4.8 Posted by Magallanes on 16 Jun 2005 - 18:41
- Add/remove remove partially....
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%INFmsmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
remove completely.
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(13 replies)
#5 Posted by nw_raptor on 15 Jun 2005 - 19:58
- The only good thing about all this whole XP N thing is that EU showed that having Microsoft cut out a Windows component is indeed doable. Of course, this is only a Media Player.
Those of you who would like to see Internet Exploer being an optional component raise your hands -
#5.2 Posted by The_Nightshift on 15 Jun 2005 - 20:21
- remove IE and you remove Windows Explorer...unless you guys want to get a custom file system browser without even having anything to download one with...
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#5.3 Posted by markjensen on 15 Jun 2005 - 20:36
- ^^^ errr.. The point was for PC vendors to pre-install alternate apps for their builds.
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#5.4 Posted by Jugalator on 15 Jun 2005 - 20:37
- "Looks like you're the only one."
... replied the impatient and silly Kirk26 after waiting 4 minutes. :p
I don't like the IE integration either, and although we need a web browser preinstalled to download another one easily, IE should really be uninstallable. As for the Explorer integration, they'd have a good opportunity of getting rid of that in Longhorn, and design Explorer as an Avalon application for system management instead, and let IE 7 live on as a separate application to compete with the separate Firefox, while they're doing some heavy maintenance on both IE and Explorer anyway. -
#5.5 Posted by SFalcon on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:16
QUOTE ^^^ errr.. The point was for PC vendors to pre-install alternate apps for their builds.
Errr, I'd rather have it come with IE than 4 different browsers to choose from and 8 different media players. And what would XP noIE come with if I buy it off the retail shelf??-
#5.6 Posted by rajankz on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:26
- Why are you against IE...remember it was (really) the first best browser . Ofcouse now i use firefox and b4 tht it was opera...but still for some sites i need IE...many of the regional sites don't show up well in other browsers other than IE...
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#5.7 Posted by M2Ys4U on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:54
- Mosaic, then Netscape, then IE.
Now? well, that's up for debate. -
#5.8 Posted by Treefrog on 15 Jun 2005 - 22:02
QUOTE And what would XP noIE come with if I buy it off the retail shelf??
Being an OEM version, it would not be possible to find on a retail shelf, and if bought on a pc, the oem manufacturer would put whatever product they were endorsing, or that you ask them to, depends on the situation and who the oem is...
however...
if there were such a theoretical product you could pick up off the retail shelf, I'm sure you would have no problem noticing the copy of the free cd with all the free apps on it, likely featuring Firefox and Thunderbird, with the free version of Opera along with many more apps for you to try, sitting right there by the register just like they used to do ALL THE TIME before MS pulled it's sneaky tricky crap with IE. Is it just me, or do alot of you guys seem like you're too young to remember ANYTHING but Windows, and how stuff has been only for the last 5 years?
Last edited by 58940 on 15 Jun 2005 - 22:08-
#5.9 Posted by eilegz on 16 Jun 2005 - 00:38
- i wish a windows xp without all this media player and ie and why not get rid of outlook express.
THis version of windows would be cleaner and use less memory
Anywyas also it should be cheaper. The main reason that the windows no media player wont sell its because cost the same that the full featured one so i rather get the full than the stripped down LOL, its just common sense make the things cheaper and more people would buy it. -
#5.10 Posted by SquareSoft0 on 16 Jun 2005 - 05:45
- WMP is a FREE piece of software, eilegz.
OEM versions of Windows XP are VERY obtainable, in fact I don't buy the retail version for price. The only requirement to obtain an OEM version of XP is buying a computer-related piece of hardware, I've done so while buying a surge protector even! -
#5.11 Posted by Kushan on 16 Jun 2005 - 08:30
- Actually you CAN remove internet explorer without removing regular explorer, it's been done before on Win2k and WinXP.
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#5.13 Posted by Zerbs on 16 Jun 2005 - 17:35
- The point that should be made, is that Microsoft tends to put "alot" of stuff in their Windows operating system that doesn't need to be there. Yes they would be a free download or an optional component durring installation, but Microsoft frequently doesn't give that option.
Windows Explorer shouldn't need IE, they serve different purposes. In fact, I hate having to disable all the "view folder as web content" and like settings every time I setup Windows on a computer for myself, family or friend.
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#6 Posted by neotool on 15 Jun 2005 - 20:14
- No way! I'm shocked!
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(1 reply)
#7 Posted by jeff_pony on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:03
- Hence why they should have got MS to remove the WMP codec instead of the whole media player.
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#8 Posted by Skyfrog on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:03
- This is a big surprise.
Last edited by 3601 on 17 Jun 2005 - 03:48
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(6 replies)
#9 Posted by bangbang023 on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:18
- Lol I've been saying this the entire time:
QUOTE "Customers purchase computers expecting them to come equipped with the capability of playing back digital media files..."
Duh! As I've said, if I bought an OS and, out of box, couldn't play media files or get on the WWW, I would be a tad bit pissed. -
#9.1 Posted by mitodna on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:36
- yeah, agreed, if the machine is not connected to the Internet, i can't do anything about it, unless, i need to go here and there and get the those software
i am not saying bad about who buying the XP N, by the way, is mplayer2 is included?
mitodna -
#9.2 Posted by M2Ys4U on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:56
- The whole point of it is that OEMs can bundle their own stuff with it... replacing WMP
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#9.3 Posted by Pwn3r on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:57
- Oh -- I forgot: What OS bundles with a browser named Safari that's also used for the computer's Help system?
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#9.4 Posted by Wizz on 15 Jun 2005 - 22:22
- Safari isn't used in the Help system. WebKit is and that is an open-sourced project which anyone can alter the code to or even replace.
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#9.5 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 11:09
QUOTE The whole point of it is that OEMs can bundle their own stuff with it... replacing WMP
for the fifty-billionth time...
OEMs can install other music software even if wmp is there..ever heard of unattented install?
-or-
Ever heard of XP LIte? Its a program that allows you to remove stuff from the windows xp setup!
I wonder y OEMs aren't doing that! OMFG maybe because they dont care...and there is no demand!-
#9.6 Posted by mgleason007 on 16 Jun 2005 - 15:38
- Ummm, no they can't. THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT. If they did so the OEM's would be in breach of their license with Microsoft and wouldn't be allowed to put Windows on their machines at the discounted price. God, where have you people been? This is one of the main reasons they've been declared an illegal monopoly.
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#10 Posted by Laptop™ on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:56
- What ever was the point in the first place I could see this coming (Tipical WMP10 User)
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#11 Posted by Sqube on 15 Jun 2005 - 21:56
- Even if mplayer 2 is included, your average user is not going to like being obligated to dig up some obscure file or click File --> Run when they're used to double-clicking and having everything work.
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#12 Posted by rIaHc3 on 15 Jun 2005 - 22:16
- Hell yea.....Take that EU....All your stupid damands seems to have worked for very little. Lets hope alot more PC Makers follow this trend
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#13 Posted by weenur on 15 Jun 2005 - 22:30
- Sometimes, people want freedom *from* choice. Even I do from time to time.
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(1 reply)
#14 Posted by ssvegeta384 on 15 Jun 2005 - 22:50
- Is this really a surprise? The EU ruling for Microsoft to make this XP N was a joke. It might make sense to them, but obviously nobody has any interest in a stripped-down OS. Media Player is a huge part of XP.
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(7 replies)
#15 Posted by Skyfrog on 15 Jun 2005 - 23:28
- I propose a law that says every case of Coca-Cola must contain at least two alternative sodas. A can of Pepsi and a can of RC for example. Furthermore all of the Coke cans MUST be empty, allowing those consumers who actually wish to drink Coke to fill the cans themselves.
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#15.2 Posted by mgleason007 on 16 Jun 2005 - 15:39
- If Coca-Cola was a monopoly using unfair business practices to stifle competition, that might make some sense. As it is, you're an idiot.
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#15.3 Posted by Skyfrog on 16 Jun 2005 - 19:04
- No need for name calling, it was a joke. Of course you knew that because your smart.
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#15.4 Posted by mgleason007 on 17 Jun 2005 - 01:16
- Yes I am and you're not.
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#15.6 Posted by mgleason007 on 18 Jun 2005 - 04:40
- Cuz we all know your reply made sense.
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#15.7 Posted by Skyfrog on 18 Jun 2005 - 06:41
- Ok, you're smart and I'm stupid. Whatever makes you feel better in your insecure little world. I'll just ignore you like I should have done to start with and let you babble all you want. My apologies to Neowin.
Last edited by 3601 on 18 Jun 2005 - 18:09
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(1 reply)
#16 Posted by Betaz on 15 Jun 2005 - 23:28
- /me claps loudly. Actually I did clap when I read that. Good move, screw everyone who tries to get in the way of innovation. If you don't like what MS offers, make something better. If you make the OS, you get the advantage of bundling your own software with it, just like every OS maker does. It's stupid to think otherwise. If there was some other program out there that was so amazingly better, then people would be requesting it.
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#16.1 Posted by mgleason007 on 16 Jun 2005 - 15:44
- What the hell is wrong with you people? There IS competition, but Microsoft's unfair business practices (read: the reason they were declared an illegal monopoly) stamp it out so thoroughly that an OEM is not even allowed to install an alternative media player or web browser or email reader etc. If OEM's were free to choose, I am positive we would see Firefox or Thunderbird or Opera etc bundled with their systems. Just you watch, once Microsoft makes their AV software, OEM's will no longer be allowed to bundle McAfee or Norton or NOD or any other AV software on their systems. It's not that there isn't a choice, it's that the OEM's are under contract not to make that choice. If they did, they would have to pay regular price for a Windows license, and pass that cost on to consumers. That OEM wouldn't last long.
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(2 replies)
#17 Posted by KC on 15 Jun 2005 - 23:53
- What a dumb move on EU's part. Could have seen that one coming. Can you imagine the average Joe consumer walking into the store and saying, "I want a computer, but don't include WM on it because I would rather download something else."
What’s the big deal? WM is unobtrusive.
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#17.1 Posted by Treefrog on 16 Jun 2005 - 03:32
QUOTE What’s the big deal? WM is unobtrusive.
But that is EXACTLY the deal. WM *is* unobtrusive, and MS was hoping nobody would notice how they are trying to leverage services through their OS (which is quite illegal under their anti-compettitive restrictions.. if only the law would be upheld), since the conduit (which they DO NOT want people to uninstall... hence the reason they *purposely* make it very hard if not next to impossible to remove) to do just this will already be convieniently installed on the vast majority of desktops. I guess it's working judging by the replies I've been reading over the last few months. Wish some people could take off the blinders.-
#17.2 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 11:03
- WMP is uninstallable
IE is not because the help and support center and the windows explorer use its code!
And is microsoft earning any money from WMP? NO! What services come with it? MSN Music and MSN Radio! Is that a problem: NO! Because Itunes is the same and I dont see people complaining about that
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(4 replies)
#18 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 00:46
- absolutely stupid....wht Dell says is absolutely correct:
QUOTE Customers purchase computers expecting them to come equipped with the capability of playing back digital media files
I wouldn't want to buy a computer, then spend half the day searching for a media player!
I have used WMP for ages now and I never had any problems with it! It is an excellent media player. Other alternatives I can think about:
Itunes = Excellent as well and integerates into taskbar like wmp!
Quicktime = same as itunes
Real = nice design but I dont like the product too bundled up with spyware?
Coolplayer = customizable and light but no way as powerful as wmp
Winamp = An excellent alternative to windows media player
Quintessential player = I dont like the design, but its a good player
Foobar2000 = light again
And all those above ^^^ are free and corporations don't earn money from them, aside from real, winamp and quicktime who add more functionality if you pay! So why should Microsoft be blamed! If it bundled WMP with windows and then asked people to pay, which is stupid, its a totally different matter.
Oh. and what about the huge number of sites that rely on wmp for videos and songs to be played on them. It would take up too much time to convert them all into a different formats and it would annoy the consumer because they now have to go download the wmp instead of it just loading up.
OEM manufactures have three options:
Leave WMP
-or-
Bundled another media player via unattended installation
-or-
Use XP Lite to remove stuff from the windows setup
Its like saying: Hey look good software, it ownz all the rest but it doesnt help competition so we should not use it!
Last edited by 111262 on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:50 -
#18.1 Posted by nexx on 16 Jun 2005 - 01:07
- "I wouldn't want to buy a computer, then spend half the day searching for a media player!"
That's why the OEM's will bundle a (non-microsoft) media player in.
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#18.2 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 01:11
- and why would OEMs want to do that...are they being paid by another company?
and OEMs can bundle another media player even if WMP is there already....ever heard of unattended installations?? -
#18.3 Posted by wildk on 16 Jun 2005 - 09:34
QUOTE That's why the OEM's will bundle a (non-microsoft) media player in.
But OEM builders already do bundle other media players, they have been doing for years. Look at any OEM PC and it will more than likley come with music match, Real Player, Quicktime etc. Microsoft hasn't stopped the OEM's from adding these players.
For Example
First one i tried and it comes with Itunes, Real Player AND WMP.
Last edited by 16997 on 16 Jun 2005 - 13:47-
#18.4 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:49
- someone here at least has common sense....
OEM manufactures have three options:
Leave WMP
-or-
Bundled another media player via unattended installation
-or-
Use XP Lite to remove stuff from the windows setup
I believe most go with the first option...because they dont care as there is no demand!
Last edited by 111262 on 16 Jun 2005 - 11:00
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(2 replies)
#19 Posted by Smigit on 16 Jun 2005 - 02:42
- haha what did they honestly expect. Sure the manufacturer could install another media player but why bother when WMP is there and its just easier to use that. If your building 50pc's go with whatever is easier.
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(1 reply)
#20 Posted by djsaad1 on 16 Jun 2005 - 02:43
- This was just a complete waste of time and money. Maybe the EU should start worrying about terror or world hunger instead of getting into stuff like this.
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#20.1 Posted by SquareSoft0 on 16 Jun 2005 - 05:47
- Yes, let's all invest our money into terror!
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(2 replies)
#21 Posted by SniperX on 16 Jun 2005 - 03:03
- No demand for it? Well shock news. How long has it actually been available? Of course there's no demand for it yet.
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#21.1 Posted by Smigit on 16 Jun 2005 - 05:45
- dell won't even sell AMD cpu's due to there being a "lack of demand", I seriously doubt they are going to bother with this OS due to a media player. Even if people dont like WMP, most people probably dont care enough to order this version of Windows specifically for that reason.
Dealing with extra stock will just make OEM's jobs harder and I doubt the new windows is any cheaper than the regular (I could be wrong mind you). -
#21.2 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:58
- it will sell for the same price...because WMP is free!
QUOTE No demand for it? Well shock news. How long has it actually been available? Of course there's no demand for it yet.
^That has to be the stupidest statement here...i have never heard people [aside from the EU] go complaining to the OEMs about wmp being bundled...so obviously people dont care do they....so therefore there is no demand for one without wmp installed
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#22 Posted by walters17 on 16 Jun 2005 - 05:54
- lmao
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(4 replies)
#23 Posted by imtoomuch on 16 Jun 2005 - 06:35
- Like this is a surprise to anybody. The average computer user wants a media player preinstalled and preconfigured so they don't have to download, install, and configure a media application to view movies and music. The EU has no clue.
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#23.1 Posted by M2Ys4U on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:37
- for the fifty-billionth time, this version of Windows is so that OEMs can install their own software to outright replace the MS software before they sell the computer.
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#23.2 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:47
- for the fifty-billionth time...
OEMs can install other music software even if wmp is there..ever heard of unattented install?
-or-
Ever heard of XP LIte? Its a program that allows you to remove stuff from the windows xp setup!
I wonder y OEMs aren't doing that! OMFG maybe because they dont care...and there is no demand!
Last edited by 111262 on 16 Jun 2005 - 11:06 -
#23.3 Posted by DJROrion on 16 Jun 2005 - 15:21
QUOTE OEMs can install other music software even if wmp is there..ever heard of unattented install?
-or-
Ever heard of XP LIte? Its a program that allows you to remove stuff from the windows xp setup!
do people even read the posts before they reply? the above has been stated alteast 3 times already. there should be no reason anyone should need to bring it up again.-
#23.4 Posted by mgleason007 on 16 Jun 2005 - 15:52
QUOTE Ever heard of XP LIte? Its a program that allows you to remove stuff from the windows xp setup!
I wonder y OEMs aren't doing that! OMFG maybe because they dont care...and there is no demand!
OEM's are not going to do that because it costs time and money, not because nobody cares. I doubt OEM's are allowed to do this anyways.
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#24 Posted by DJ Prem on 16 Jun 2005 - 07:42
- EU has made mistakes n they never learn n they are still stupid
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(1 reply)
#25 Posted by dannymp3 on 16 Jun 2005 - 07:57
- So it's called "Windows XP N" now?
I remember this as "Windows XP Reduced Media Edition"
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(4 replies)
#26 Posted by Kushan on 16 Jun 2005 - 08:35
- I think a lot of people missed the point with this, the point wasn't to create a new version of XP with no Media player installed, it was to prove that Microsoft cannot abuse it's monopoly, the EU won this fight and with all the fuss about things like Firefox and Google/MSN desktop search as of recent months, Microsoft is going to have to be careful with future OS's.
I mean imagine if in LH it had MSN desktop search installed by default, would the average Joe even bother with google's variety? So far Microsoft has bundled alot of it's products with the OS and those products end up being the most used, not because they're better but because average users don't know any better.
This will hopefully put an end to this so that future technology's wont be dominated by Microsoft, other smaller companies will have a chance. -
#26.1 Posted by wrl on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:23
- I feel this has sent a precedent now. Companies like apple for example, will have to follow suit. Smaller companies can now worry about success. It’s a shame, but the customers will be sticking the EU when no one purchases Windows N.
QUOTE This will hopefully put an end to this so that future technology's wont be dominated by Microsoft, other smaller companies will have a chance.
What’s wrong with MS dominating the market? People have a choice! If you don’t like what’s on the radio or on the tv then change the dang channel. If you don’t like MS and their “monopoly” CHOOSE something else! How simple is that? It really gets to me when I see people whining about something they have COMPLETE control over!
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#26.2 Posted by Smigit on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:31
- For all intensive purposes LH will include msn deslktop search, it will just be integrated into the OS without the msn tag but it will provide the same functionality. And no, noone could pull them over for that, search has existed since windows 95 and before and noone has complained. The fact that Longhorns will be more advanced doesnt mean they will force them to remove it. It would be like them asking microsoft to remove the current search feature in XP, it just wont happen.
Theres surely better ways to give smaller companies a way to compete than crippling the market leaders software. What happens when the smaller company gets large, then do you say "enough is enough we are going to cripple your product so those other small guys can compete". Heck if there existed other worthwhile alternatives people WOULD/do use them, look at the success of firefox (I know its free but so is 90% of media players and browsers ect) -
#26.3 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:55
- God desktop search, most media players, and internet browsers are free....even if small companies dominate are they making any money NO!
People go for the software they think is best....millions of people in this world use winamp, millions use itunes/quicktime even though wmp is bundled!
Millions of people use firefox/opera even though ie is bundled!
Isn't nullsoft a small company? Isnt mozilla a small company? Isnt opera a small company?
So i wonder how they are doing well
Microsoft is not abusing its monopoly....if everyone else was charging for it and they were purposely giving it free or charging it cheaper then its called abusing its monopoly! -
#26.4 Posted by mgleason007 on 16 Jun 2005 - 16:55
- You are completely missing the point. Yes, there are millions (maybe) using Firefox, but that's out of how many? Firefox has what, 5% market share? So while the company is surviving, I wouldn't call that success. And why? Because that 5% is people who actually know what a computer is and for the most part, how it works. So, IE is dominating the market. Why is that? Because most people don't know any better. No one knows that there IS in fact a choice. Now, make MS take out IE (hypothetically). Go back to the free disc at the checkout counter with a bunch of browsers on it. Five years from now, people will know that there are choices and that IE isn't the only browser for Windows.
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(2 replies)
#27 Posted by TheSarge on 16 Jun 2005 - 10:36
- For it's next trick, the EU will insist that Windows be sold without drivers for the Microsoft Mouse.
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#27.1 Posted by bobtheman on 16 Jun 2005 - 11:07
- They put no microsoft generic drivers
Its like when you first load up windows!
message: Please install the drivers for this keyboard and mouse by clicking here!
user: WTF! How i cant move my mouse or keyboard!
Microsoft will make an updated version of Window XP N available on Wednesday, but none of the computer manufacturers that ZDNet UK spoke to are considering preinstalling it on desktops or laptops. Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Fujitsu Siemens all said they have no firm plans to install Windows XP N, citing a lack of customer demand. A Dell representative added Tuesday that customers expect to have a media player included.
"Dell will continue to offer European customers Microsoft's Windows operating systems including the Windows Media Player utility on Dimension desktops and Inspiron notebooks," the representative said. "Customers purchase computers expecting them to come equipped with the capability of playing back digital media files, and it's our obligation to meet this need. (Windows XP N will) not (be offered) at this time. We'll monitor the market to see if XP N is in high demand."