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Microsoft May Be Trying to Kill the Netbook Market
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Posted On :
Aug-10-2010
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Article Word Count :
573
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This article is about the Gagetology Report on consumer responses to new netbooks packed with only the Windows 7 Starter Edition. Learn about what you would be missing with the smaller Windows 7 Starter Edition, compared with the original, larger Windows 7.
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It’s no secret the disdain Steve Ballmer and Michael Dell have publicly expressed for netbooks. Both companies make more money from bigger iron running bigger versions of Windows.
Leading up to the launch of Windows 7, Windows XP was the operating system of choice for netbooks. Now comes Windows 7 and what does Microsoft offer as a trim version of Windows 7 for netbooks? Microsoft offers Windows 7 Starter Edition, a low-end feature-starved version that lacks many of the features that make other versions of Windows 7 so attractive.
That fact that 23 out of the 28 netbooks we looked at on Amazon are shipping with Windows 7 Starter Edition, Retrevo was interested in learning what consumers know about Windows 7 and netbooks and how they felt about having Windows 7 Starter Edition installed on their new netbooks. So we asked 1100 of our users if they are planning to buy a netbook this year.
For users who plan to buy a netbook this year, we asked them further questions:
Do you know about the different versions of Windows 7 (Starter, Premium, etc)?
Do you know that Windows 7 Starter edition lacks some Windows XP features such as Multi-monitor Support, Desktop Personalization, DVD Playback?
Will you be satisfied if your new Netbook came with a Windows 7 Starter edition?
Retrevo was not surprised to discover that 61% of consumers intending to buy a netbook computer were not aware of limitations in Windows 7 Starter Edition. When Retrevo pointed out the differences 56% of those respondents said they would not be satisfied if their new netbook came with Windows 7 Starter Edition.
Here’s a list of some of those features missing from Windows 7 Starter Edition:
No Desktop Personalization
Got a picture of you and the family on vacation that you might want to use as the background on the desktop? Not going to happen with Starter Edition, you’re stuck with that wonderful Microsoft background.
No DVD Playback
Yes, we know netbooks don’t have built-in DVD drives but you can get an external USB DVD drive for around $50. Unfortunately Windows 7 Starter Edition won’t allow you to play DVDs even on an external drive.
No Multi-Monitor Support
Netbooks are great for taking on the road to access the Internet but there are times when you might want to hook up a second monitor. Yes, Windows 7 Starter Edition will “mirror,” whatever is on the screen of your netbook on the second monitor but it won’t allow you to have a different display on each one.
No Aero
It’s not as if netbooks don’t have the graphics power to run Aero, it’s just that Microsoft decided all the cool interface components on Aero including the new Aero Peek and Aero Snap are disabled in Windows 7 Starter.
The List Goes On
That was some of the more glaring omissions from Windows 7 Starter Editions. Here are a few more
* No Multi-Touch
* No Premium Games
* No Windows Media Center
* Presentation Mode
* Windows XP Mode
Like it or Upgrade it
Don’t like it? Well you can always fork over $80 to the Upgrade Anytime program and move up to Windows 7 Home Premium which is probably what most consumers will do.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Microsoft May Be Trying to Kill the Netbook Market_28719.aspx
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Author Resource :
Andrew Eisner, Retrevo's director of community and content and resident hard core gadget enthusiast. Eisner comes to Retrevo from the world of computer journalism. To find more information, see TV and Lenovo G450.
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Keywords :
windows 7, windows xp, netbook, laptop, Microsoft, tv, Lenovo,
Category :
Product Reviews
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Consumer Electronics
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