Microsoft dropping three app limit from Windows 7 Starter Edition
By Ross Miller 
posted May 22nd 2009 4:17PM
posted May 22nd 2009 4:17PM
[Thanks, Stephen]
posted May 22nd 2009 4:17PM
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My bad... I've done more reading and see that others are right... Microsoft basically switched the names on Starter Edition and Home Basic. Starter Edition WILL be available pre-installed in the US and 1st world countries.
Even so, as a lot of people pointed out, a 3 app limit was not really that restrictive on a netbook. Are you really going to do more than listen to music, surf the web, and balance your checkbook (or play a game or something) at the same time on a 9" screen?
On my HP Mini 1000 (running Win7 RC 1), I have uTorrent open, Firefox, iTunes, my music library in windows explorer, and Pidgin.
Note to Engadget: You got your facts wrong on this one
Windows Starter Edition is only for developing countries where Microsoft has an agreement with that country. Starter edition has never been released in the US (yes, never. Its been around since XP Starter Edition). It has absolutely NOTHING to do with netbooks.
No, Home Basic is for developing countries and Home Basic is for low end computers. It has changed since XP.
Yes, it has changed since Vista.
My guess, is that Home Basic will be Starter Edition but with DVD playback codec provided, and possible a 32 and 64-bit option, for the same price or maybe 1$US more or something like that.
I've got a question about Windows 7 for those of you who ran the beta.
I have a toshiba R500 with duo 1.2ghz processors. It ran Vista horribly with 1GB of ram and now it runs vista fairly acceptably with 1.5GB (max on this machine). Will performance for my be better if I stick with vista business or upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released?
7 runs better on my sammy nc-10. As far as the ram I think 7's intellimem or whatever they call the ram allocation process works better.
Windows 7 is a little more optimized than Vista.
Also, it run with 512MB of RAM... not great but it runs. I recommend 1.5GB of RAM for Win7 RC1 (for laptop) as anything under, kinda uses the HDD to store RAM as you don't have enough, which will result in killing further your battery life.
Windows 7 seems to be lighter on resources then Vista, so I would figure that it would run better.
In my experience(and that of just about everyone I've heard from), windows 7 has significantly superior performance.
I'm using Windows 7 RC1 on my Dell Dimension E520 (2.8 GHz dual-core Pentium D, 1 GB RAM, Intel graphics (eww)), and it runs VERY well. I personally never had any real problems Vista except that my crappy Intel GPU wasn't great with Aero (still ran it, just not well). However, Aero on 7 runs like a dream on the same machine. It is much more optimized for lower-end computers. If I were you, I'd probably go ahead and do the upgrade. It's well worth it.
In a word, yes.
I'm glad they dropped the 3 app limit, if for no other reason than to stop rival fanboi's from beating that particular ex-horse on every win 7 thread.
Plus, it just makes since.
Actually Mark, home basic is for developing nations.
7 Starter is OEM only in 1st world markets.
3 apps? I probably never get less then 5. But what i hate more is that 1 GB RAM limit. Not because i would buy it without it. But because the netbook chipset vendors make only 1 GB fixed RAM notebooks/chipsets because of this Starter Windows limitation. So even if i would pay for more expensive Profi version of Windows, there is no way how to enlarge RAM.
P.S.: now I got 1.00 Kg Dell E4200, so i do not care
How about just 1 version, the ultimate version and thats it, and maybe business but other than that, it not needed
I think it's hilarious that people bitch and moan about having too much choice. If you just want to buy Ultimate, THEN GO BUY ULTIMATE. Who cares if MS offers other versions you're not interested in? Just buy what you want. Having a choice is a good thing.
Besides, does anyone who reads this blog really not know which one they want to get? For shoppers that don't understand the differences between the versions, the cheapest one (Home Premium, at retail) will do everything they could want. How is this a problem?
Because you don't want to pay for EFS, remote desktop server, domains and location-aware printing, which are included in the cost of Professional. And businesses need those features. It's been said but it bears repeating--there are only three versions available to consumers: Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. If you don't need those features I mentioned, you go for Home Premium. If you do, go for Pro. And if you're a system admin or tinkerer, go for Ultimate. It's honestly not that hard.
nice... i plan on gettin a netbook in the next year or so and i'm glad that now i don't have to cross my fingers that if i installed home premium on it that it would still work since the 3 app limit for start edition was pretty ridiculous... kinda pumped now haha...
Three-app limit or not, most (misinformed) people who buy netbooks (thinking they are full-featured laptops) are going to be disappointed by the performance of their new shit-tops. I recognize that netbooks certainly have their place, when people know what they are getting into, but more often than not they are a step back and another reason why many believe that windows is crap.
Believe it or not, most people are totally familiar with the concept that cheaper models of things are not as good as more expensive ones. I have never heard of anybody thinking that a netbook is going to be just as good as a $1000 laptop, and if anybody really does think that then maybe it'll be a lesson well learned for the rest of their lives as a consumer.
I don't think so. Ask the average person if they know anything about processor speed or RAM, and they'll look at you blankly. I wish I could say you were right.
I'm glad they dropped the 3 app limit. Even on a netbook I could have possibly got along with the limit, but it's nice to see this is not going to be a factor.
I wish they would just cut the crap and have one version, like their Apple counterparts.
Microsoft makes OS's for many more PC types than Apple. Thus the many types of OS.
And the OSX license doesnt give you the freedom to install it on anything that wasnt made by Apple. Microsoft lets you do whatever the hell you want with their OS once you purchase a license.
Apples to Oranges comparison. Microsoft cant offer just one OS since they sell to markets that ask for different kinds of OS and PC types that prefer specific types of OS.
Windows multi sku 89% share
OSX single sku 8.9% share
Market penetration, you're doin' it wrong.
We repeat, there is only 2 versions in store: Home and Professional. 2, not 5,6,7. 2.
Not bad really... if your a serious computer user, take the pro. If you just wanna use internet, take home, its cheaper.
The 3 application limit surprisingly was not not a problem for most users. Thier biggest gripe was not having a desktop background.
I think so...
The 3 app limit was just stupidity. If the hardware is not capable of supporting more than that many apps, then let that be the limit, not some arbitrary cutoff. Plus I'm sure there was going to be more than enough debate over what constitutes an "app". If I've got Foxit PDF writer rendering out virtual printer output to a PDF file, does that count as an app? What about when it launches a PDF reader when the render has been completed, is that an app? So if I happen to be listening to music, and have a browser open, and need to print out a quick Word document, now I gotta shut off my music or close my browser because the printing to PDF is now going to fail? I think they did themselves a favor and avoided a whole customer-support shitstorm over this supposed "feature".
I'm really digging Win7.
Seriously I think they've got something here.
There should just be 2 versions of windows: one for the desktop and one for the server room.
There should be no underlying differences in capabilities, just a difference in what's enabled.
Desktop versions should be better locked down, not setup with the assumption that they
will be managed remotely or setup to broadcast to the world that they are "open for business".
A "home version" of windows should be just as at home on a corporate network as a "business
version'. One mindset should be usable for managing machines at the office or at home.
The old NT vs 95 split was decent enough.
Anything beyond that should be addressed by completely separate products.
MCE should be an entirely different boxed product if it must be distinct.
Of course the "business" end of things will interfere with the "engineering" end of things.
The only reason is -- MS would be facing tons of lawsuits over this limitation, one that is completely arbitrary and without real basis to support, since we have seen Beta's of Win 7 Ultimate run just fine on netbooks already. Starter is being distributed to shutout Linux from this market, just like XP did earlier.
If they kept this 3-app limitation, coupled with the new netbook maximum specifications just released, MS would be handing the netbook market over to Linux on a silver platter!!! Now, revisit the maximum specifications and up them to very realistic hardware specs that individuals and business wants, offer better security and keep your marketshare of netbooks, like you did with the revitalization of XP Home did. But, don't listen to me -- who am I anyhow, just an ordinary customer who is a dual OS computer user interested in a netbook purchase.
Can someone explain to me why we are complaining about having options?
It's more:
BECAUSE MS charges the premium on Corporations, that they can offer a CHEAPER alternative to less well-off consumers.
Unlike Apple that dings EVERYONE who buys ANY of their products period
MUHAHAHA!
IN YOUR FACE APPLE!
LOL!
RE TAR DED
Look at this:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC094Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOA&mco=MzgzMjcyOA
One freaking version... $129... take a freaking hint MS!
Hahahaha! You idiots still pay for OSs?? FOSS FTW!
Kind of off topic, but does anyone find it odd that Ross Miller uses the word "gonna" in this post? I know it's a blog but I'm not sure I've seen this before on Engadget, save for Ghostbusters references.