Windows XP N

Microsoft has finally come up with a name for XP minus the media player for its European customers.

Windows without Media Player gets a name (Tech Spot)

Microsoft has been ordered by the European Commission to offer a version of Windows that does not have the media player bundled with it, and it will do so, under the name of either “Windows XP Home Edition N” or “Windows XP Professional Edition N”. Microsoft had wanted to use the name “Windows XP Reduced Media Edition” but the EC balked at the name.

“We have some misgivings about the chosen name as we fear it may cause confusion. We will adopt the commission’s name in order to move forward and accelerate the pace of the implementation process.” – Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake.

Other names that were considered included Windows XP Not Incorporating Windows Media Player, Windows XP/N and Windows XP/B.

I suppose it’s better than “Crappy XP” or “Same Price, Less Software.”

FILED UNDER: Economics and Business, Europe,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Kathy K says:

    I suppose it’s better than “Crappy XP” or “Same Price, Less Software.”

    Better, perhaps, but far less accurate…

  2. John says:

    Crappy XP is exactly what it is.

  3. Beats 98 or ME.

    And this kind of stuff is sooo freakin’ stupid: since people can then download the player.

    Yeesh.

  4. James Joyner says:

    Yup. Somehow, I’ve managed to download Mozilla Firefox on several computers, via Internet Explorer, no less, and also download and install RealPlayer, QuickTime, and various other media players needed for specific file types without problem.

  5. bryan says:

    How about “Bill Gates is our bitch XP EU” 😉

  6. Jack Tanner says:

    How about ‘XP plus useless EU regulations’?

  7. Axel Kassel says:

    If the British public can read this sort of nonsense and then vote to accept the EU’s authoritarian-fantasy grab-bag of a constitution, then they will richly deserve everything they get.

  8. XP is crap….this is why I run SuSE…With a good emulator most windows programs will work