While the release of Windows XP Starter Edition (SE) into the South African market during the course of last year was met with a healthy dose of scepticism on the part of users and the technical press, the release of Windows Vista SE in the past two months seems to have changed those sentiments completely.
By contrast to the heavy limitations XP SE was subjected to, Windows Vista SE is for all intents and purposes a 'light-version' of the full-blown Windows Vista line.
Vista SE supports a broader range of hardware, contains a fuller complement of software and benefits from all of the new advances made by Microsoft with its release of Vista.
Looking back at Microsoft's previous attempt, however, Jamie Scott, director at Tarsus Technologies, says the market's disillusionment with XP SE was understandable.
"For starters, XP SE did not support a broad range of processors, and had limited RAM and hard disk capacity. It only supported Intel and AMD's low-end processors, namely the lower-end Celeron and Duron varieties, a maximum of 256MB of RAM and 80GB of hard disk storage," he explains.
By contrast, Windows Vista SE is far less limiting. "Vista SE brings support for a wider range of processors including all varietals of Celeron processors, as well as both the Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 architectures, AMD's Athlon XP, Sempron and Geode processors; and a wide variety of other processing platforms in the same 'value space'.
"The RAM and hard disk limitations have also been raised to 1GB (with 512MB recommended) and 120GB (15GB recommended) respectively," he says. "The real hot news with Vista SE, however, is its inclusion of a fuller range of applications. "These include the revamped Windows Mail client, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Media Player, Windows Photo Gallery and a host of new games. Microsoft's legendary new desktop search functionality and Internet Explorer 7 browser are also included, making for a powerful package of software for entry-level users."
For Tarsus, Scott says Windows Vista SE is a massive step.
"While XP SE had a value proposition that was only viable in certain circumstances, we never felt entirely comfortable in bundling it with our low-end, retail focused computers.
"Windows Vista SE, on the other hand, is completely different. With its low price point, larger hardware support base and an excellent selection of applications - users can get the best that Vista has to offer, bundled with a computer at a retail price of below R4 000.
"We're extremely encouraged by this latest attempt from Microsoft and believe the users in the market will feel the same. We anticipate that it will be a big hit in the coming months," he concludes.
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With more than 20 years of experience in the ICT industry, Tarsus is the leading value-added distributor in South Africa, specialising in the supply of the world's foremost PC and peripheral hardware brands to the local reseller channel.
Tarsus strives to meet the channel's needs for credit funding, stock availability and efficient logistics, ensuring that resellers are able to deliver the highest quality service to their customers, focus on support and compiling the best overall solutions for their end-user customer base at the lowest possible cost.
The company prides itself on its flexibility, adaptability, knowledge, skills and successful track record combined with an industry-leading ability to manage large roll-outs. These are the reasons Tarsus has consistently been rated as the top distributor in the country by international vendors, resellers and the IT media alike.
With its strong commitment to the South African channel, Tarsus is able to not only make the reseller channel more efficient, but more importantly, it plays a vital role in dramatically reducing the costs of doing business in the local ICT market.
Brands represented by the Tarsus stable include industry leaders like Acer, Cisco, HP, IBM, i-mate, Lenovo, Oki, Samsung, TallyGenicom, Targus and Wyse Technology.
More information about Tarsus is available at http://www.tarsus.co.za.
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