If you’re a digital senior, you may remember that there was a certain harmony in Windows versions back to 2001. With some exceptions, you shouldn’t worry about making a choice. specific version of the operating system For your personal computer. If you wanted to install Windows ME, didn’t work in a company’s IT department and didn’t want to switch to Windows 2000, your only option was Windows ME.

This changed dramatically with the advent of Windows XP. Microsoft’s new operating system has come with many new features that promise to usher in a new era in computing history. But it also came with lots of prints. So you no longer just have Windows XP. In fact, this definition of “dry” did not exist.

Windows and many versions

Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Media Center, Windows Starter etc. This version range, more or less, was also deployed in later versions, but some versions were shelved. Initial versions appeared on Windows XP and ended up in Windows 7, surpassing the loved and hated Windows Vista (which isn’t Microsoft’s worst system).

What prompted Redmond to publish this latest edition, and why did it end so soon? Let’s go back in time to try to find out.

Initial versions, as we said, came to light with Windows XP, but their distribution was not yet complete. limited to some regions occurred in the world and a few years after the first release of the new operating system. According to Microsoft, it was a “low-cost introduction” to Windows XP, designed specifically for desktop computers in developing countries.

Microsoft’s head of market expansion, Will Pole, recalled that in 2006 Windows XP Starter was born after a joint project with the Thai Government. Authorities hoped to distribute the computers to families who couldn’t afford it. “While working with the Thai government, we reconnected with Microsoft’s original vision of a PC at every desk and in every home,” the executive recalls.

Windows XP Getting Started

So Windows XP Starter, Available in Thailand and also in other countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Malaysia, Peru, Russia, Turkey, Uruguay, Vietnam or Venezuela. And its features were very different from those seen in other versions of Windows.

Microsoft announced that the system allows up to three applications to run simultaneously, its most ambitious resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels, and it does not support workgroup domains. It is also specifically designed to work with Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron processors. There were other hardware-level limits as well: it only supported 512 MB of RAM.

But it wasn’t all cuts. Windows XP Starter also included a dedicated help page for anyone who’s ever been to Windows XP Starter. learn to use computer and videos with tutorials in the local language. Additionally, it included custom backgrounds and screensavers for some regions where it was made available.

If you wanted to buy this version of Windows, you couldn’t. Reason? Microsoft has sold licenses to manufacturers, not users. In this sense, Windows XP Starter was included with some low-cost computers and was designed to work there specifically.

Windows Vista Getting Started

The arrival of Windows Vista did not mean the end of this version of Windows. Microsoft returned to this formula with Windows Vista Starter. was also available in developing countries and largely retained the features of its predecessor. However, the cuts were more significant. For example, the new Windows Vista user interface known as Windows Aero has been permanently disabled.

Windows 7 Getting Started

Then came Windows 7 Starter with the release of Windows 7. As in previous versions, Microsoft wanted to limit the opening of programs to a maximum of three. The idea has progressed to development versions release candidate, but the company backed out. Many of the limitations still existed, so it continued to establish itself as the most trimmed Windows version in the catalog.

We haven’t seen the Starter version of Windows since. This is because, although the hardware requirements of Microsoft’s operating systems have increased, low quality hardware strong enough to run them. On the other hand, it is almost no longer necessary.

And on the other hand, a whole family of alternative devices has been developed that no longer requires the possession of a computer.

This task, performed by low-cost computers and later netbooks, has been replaced by offerings that specifically use smartphones and tablets, not Microsoft operating systems, but Google. There are also low-end devices. For these, there are also less demanding Android versions like Android Go.

Images: Microsoft | BlazePlastic2003

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