Netbook Review UK

Microsoft's Specs for Windows 7 & Netbooks

Netbooks and Windows have, so far, been an interesting combination.  Instead of running the latest and greatest from Redmond (Vista), netbooks have preferred Windows XP since it’s less power hungry.  That matches well with the lower powered netbook processors.  As a result, Microsoft extended the life of the XP operating system, and charged sustantially less for it (as little as $15) to combat Linux on netbooks.

Now, however, the upcoming successor to Windows Vista,  Windows 7 was designed from the ground up to work on systems with smaller screens, slower processors, and less RAM than Windows Vista.  Many have already installed the Windows 7 beta and release candidate on their netbooks and reports are that it runs as well, if not better than Windows XP.   The quandary now is, however, how can netbook manufacturers obtain a cheap operating system from Microsoft now that Windows XP will be completely phased out?  Microsoft’s reponse is a crippled version of Windows 7 called Windows 7 Starter Edition.

The catch?  To qualify to buy Windows 7 Starter from Microsoft as a manufacturer, the hardware on which Windows 7 Starter will be installed, is is rumoured,  must meet a set of maximum specs, as set my Microsoft.This information hasn’t been confirmed by Microsoft, but in a nutshell, here it is:

• CPU: Single core processor that operates at 2GHz or less and uses 15W or less of power
• Screen Size: 10.2 inches or smaller
• RAM: 1GB of less
• Storage: Up to 250GB hard drive or 64GB SSD

There will reportedly be no restrictions on touch screen capabilities or graphics performance.