- Tuesday, 9 February 2010
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BathOS: We've heard of it. Your mobile phone works while you are bathing
Microsoft fiddling with netbook licences
INFOWORLD CLAIMS that Microsoft is up to no good with its requirements to run Windows 7 on netbooks.
The magazine says that the Vole has muddied the netbook hardware waters by setting "maximum hardware requirements" for netbooks running Windows XP Home.
Things are likely to get worse with Windows 7 as the Vole has decreased the screen size of what it will consider being a netbook from 12.1 inches to 10.2 inches.
On the other hand, it has increased its permitted netbook storage capacity from a 32GB solid-state drive or a 160GB hard disk drive to a 64GB SSD or a 250GB HDD. It has also lifted previous restrictions on touch and other Windows 7 stuff.
The question is, why any restrictions at all? Infoworld blames the Vole's archaic, multilevel pricing strategy.
The change means that hardware vendors are going to have to make sure that their mini-notebook gear fits within Microsoft's restrictions so they can qualify for the cut-price netbook edition of Windows 7.
Punters who want a higher spec netbook are expected to have to pay through the nose for the full version of Windows 7.
However, the cleverness of the plan has not been seen yet. Sure, users will be able to default to any of several netbook optimised Linux distributions. But Linux's appeal will likely be at the lower end of the market, which is exactly where the Vole will be happy to supply its crippled Windows 7 Home Basic.
Punters at the higher end of the netbook market will be able to get the full version of Windows 7. What will happen is that there will be a split in the netbook market with lower cost, smaller machines running Windows 7 Home Basic or Linux and much higher priced netbooks running the expensive premium version of Windows 7.
The middle market for netbooks effectively will have been eliminated and Steve Ballmer will laugh all the way to the bank. µ
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I think it’s a good idea from a business perspective… MS need to draw the line or soon 12” 13” 14” laptops will be claiming to be netbooks and that’s just stupid because they are not…
Iv never brought into this netbook crap because a lot of them are just too feature lacking and crappy build quality for what I need as a IT Tech going to many sites.
Let MS put restrictions on it, if vendors want Linux then so be it… ultimately the consumer will choose what they want.
If Paul Thurrot is to be believed (http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2009/05/22/exclusive-microsoft-to-remove-3-app-limit-from-windows-7-starter.aspx), the only "crippling" feature left is the inability to change wallpaper......
The desktop will be tiny anyway, so that sounds like no big deal to me!
Not quite sure you're right there - windows 7 Home Basic won#t be available in any of the 'emerged' markets. So it certainly won't be on netbooks in this country. Starter edition is probably the way to go with netbooks - but that's avilable through ordinary OEM channels, so customers will be able to put it on any hardware they like.
"However, the cleverness of the plan has not been seen yet. Sure, users will be able to default to any of several netbook optimised Linux distributions. But Linux's appeal will likely be at the lower end of the market, which is exactly where the Vole will be happy to supply its crippled Windows 7 Home Basic."
Why not "netbooks+" will be running Linux since there will be huge price difference ?
The middle market for netbooks effectively will have been eliminated and Steve Ballmer will laugh all the way to the bank. µ
Sounds like the "eliminated middle market" will be a hole big enough for Jobs to drive his mob through, thus clobbering everyone.
LINUX=FREEDOM from those GREEDY bastards.
What? LINUX not powerful enough to run on higher end laptops? What kind of a crap statement is that. Microsoft have you hook, line and sinker. They have always regulated the LINUX netbooks to the lowend, illegaly via specifications, and here is a tech writer regurgitating the crap.
I'm more concerned about when, this time next year, you stack your useless NetBook on my shelves to join your Internet Appliance, PDA, pet rock, Sinclair, yo-yos, hair-tip dye and hula-hoops.
Lemmings.
Why do we care at all what Microsoft tries to squeeze out of the consumer. Linux is not perfect and it needs some retraining, but you can load Ubuntu on it, full version. Microsoft will kill itself. It is just a matter of time.