CNET News.com is reporting that Windows XP Starter Edition, the stripped down version of Windows targeted at developing technology markets, will not run on higher end processors, like Intel’s Pentium 4 or AMD’s Athlon. Instead, XP Starter Edition is relegated to systems equipped with budget CPUs which include Intel’s Celeron and AMD’s Duron (among others). The article explains the limitation as perhaps being a way of keeping the lower cost version of Windows out of the business computer market:
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.
Without the incompatibility, PC makers and dealers could potentially start bundling the OS onto computers for business customers.
Microsoft currently offers Windows XP Starter Edition in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and also plans to release it in India, Russia and Brazil.