New Windows 7 for netbooks to retain full features?
updated 01:15 pm EDT, Mon September 21, 2009
Second Windows 7 OS for netbooks due?
A version of the upcoming Windows 7 operating system for netbooks, or "low cost small notebook PCs" as Microsoft calls them, will not have a very limited feature-set after all. According to a Sunday TGDaily report, there will be a version of the netbook-oriented OS with most of the "regular" functions of the OS retained, though what these would be isn't known.
This new rumored OS is likely to be based on Windows 7 Starter Edition. Starter Edition is already being restricted for use in low-cost netbooks, including axing the Aero Glass interface and not allowing users to change the default wallpaper. Microsoft has recently announced it will remove its proposed three-app limit for the Starter Edition, however.
It's thought that Intel and netbook manufacturers were at least partially responsible for Microsoft's decision to offer the new, unnamed operating system variant, which would allow netbooks to be more functional than with Starter Edition or other versions. The option may have also been prompted by fears of netbook producers opting for Linux instead of more expensive Windows versions.
