Microsoft reportedly bans netbooks with hybrid storage systems, MSI's Wind U115 caught in the middle
By Darren Murph 
posted June 6th 2009 5:41PM
posted June 6th 2009 5:41PM
Read - MSI Wind U115 on sale
Read - bit-tech report
posted June 6th 2009 5:41PM
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I try not to be a Microsoft hater (or any hater for that matter), but this is fucking ridiculous
Just a monkey w/glasses here but don't get why Microsoft would have a problem with hybrid storage system? Can someone explain?
Maybe they realize it will help their OS perform better. Sometimes I think that Microsoft has an extent to how well they want their OS's to perform.
Why is this so hard to understand? Douche-Microsoft doesn't make enough money on XP. They don't want anything really great on XP because that reduces your pressure to pay them serious money for 7 or Vista. They limit netbooks to protect the high-margin business. It's that simple.
And yes, they are MUCH more evil than Apple because it's easy to avoid Apple if you don't like Apple. Try avoiding Douche-Microsoft. They simply count your processor orders from Intel and demand a payment. They are EXACTLY like a government tax because you can't avoid it. And because they are as big as a government, they can afford to have Douche-shills show up here and act all puzzled.
"We've never been fans of Microsoft's ability to put hard limits on netbooks with Windows XP; it's this fact alone that has kept the entire sector from moving forward in terms of specification advancement"
Umm, what about the restrictions that Intel impose?
Ubuntu FTW
It's funny. If it's with Apple locking Mac to their hardware, it's fine. They created the software, they can dictate and completely close availability of their OS. Now, Microsoft imposes two and a half rules...
this report is simply not true at all. this was placed to generate comment. pure and simple. show a microsoft source for this please. i don't think so !
lol...sheep.
exactly.. it's like scaring away business
The Netbook makers need to tell Balmer and Co to jump off a tower block. But they don't have the balls to face down MS.
I'm happy that Microsoft and Intel are doing this.
All it does is speed the demise of the duopoly.
This kind of practice is just the kind of shot in the arm that Linux and ARM based platforms need.
Also, hopefully this will solicit another, bigger fine from the EU.
@Victor:
I agree with you, and that's why I run Linux.
If I got a netbook Windows would be the last thing I put on it anyways. I have no desire to play games on a little netbook and I dont want to wait long for it to load. The point in having one is to jump online and do quick notes on. It's perfect for for general college use because of that.
Ubuntu or other distros would be the ONLY smart choice to begin with.
Or everyone could just stop complaining and buy the full version for Windows 7. This restriction is on the STARTER edition. If you want the luxuries of a more powerful netbook, the OEMs can just use the full version. It's like complaining that your free cell phone from Verizon doesn't have a 5 megapixel camera in it.
@Shadow08, No, it's more like complaining that you phone with a 5 megapixel camera has a restriction artificially imposed on it so that it only captures 640x480 unless you pay extra.
Microsoft and Intel are hurting innovation with their monopolistic tactics.
so... putting xp on SSD is bad for MS? how so?
I think MS needs to rethink their control strategies. MS is doing a lot of nonsense this days. Try bringing down the prices of Windows 7 and you will see the hybrid system will be a problem for not much longer.
I've been using 7 lately, on a broad spectrum of hardware. From an old IBM Thinkpad A31 with the original Pentium 4 and ATi Radeon 7500 32MB, all the way up to a Phenom X4 955 (OCing 4+GHz), twin HD Radeon 4890 2GB, 4GB DDR3-2133 machine, and it is incredibly powerful. It performs amazingly across the board, and hardware support is surprisingly well covered. When I get around to figuring out how to put it on my intel celery stick based EEE 4G, I think that'll be the ultimate test.
if it performs well there, I'm waiting till 7 comes out and buying the best netbook on the market preleaded with Linux, and putting 7 on it. Windows XP on an EEE sucks ASS though, so its 7 or Linux.
And yes, I am eagerly awaiting giving Microsoft however many hundreds of dollars they demand for 7. I have historically hated MS, and used Linux wherever I can, and pirated anything I need. Of the 60+ computers that have made their way through my home network, I think 1 MIGHT have been legally licensed. The way I see it? One legal license, one person, many computers with that. I know that's not how MS looks at it, but I'll be more open to buying 7, so I may have a few legal copies.
@Summertime
Here's your proof...
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/06/04/microsoft-no-netbooks-with-hybrid-storage/1
For those that didnt get any explanation out of the comments, the article linked above me said it perfectly.
"Hybrid storage works in the Wind by installing the OS onto the SSD portion of the U115, then offering 160GB of standard 2.5" hard drive as additional mass storage which can be turned on and off on a whim to save power: it's just like having a big-ass USB key, but built in. And faster."
Whats the problem here ?
I don't see a problem with it and I don't see a reason to make a fuss over it either. Just move on. Life goes on, with XP or without it.
the problem is that Microsoft sells OSes, they have no business telling OEMS how to build computers. OEMs are innovating, and Microsoft is changing the terms of selling Windows after the fact. Any other company couldn't get away with that.
Stop hating on Apple because Apple sells computers...and makes their own OS to put on there. They don't tell anybody ELSE what to do an that's 100% legit. Complaining about OSX is like complaining that BMW won't sell engines in Fords.
Microsoft is selling operating systems, yes. Thus they get to tell the OEMs exactly what kind of hardware their OS gets installed on. If they don't agree to the terms then they can't use their OS. It's simple really.
And when the suppliers screw up the hardware or drivers, Microsoft gets the flak for it. Hence, why apple gets to decide even the power cords they use.
I have trouble seeing what Microsoft is gaining by doing this.
Perceived control. That's what. They have no actual control, of course, and this will simply catalyze the development of a cheap, Linux-based alternative.
They want to ID lock our computers. Next will be weapons.
@Haikibutsu
great mgs reference!
i lol'd
It's ok, Im good friends with a PC launderer. lol
Eye Have You..
rrrrrrrhghghgg Drebin .. stop your monkey from stealing my smokes..
Simple. Microsoft doesn't like netbooks.
Netbooks dragged the bottom spec right down to below Vista's minimum usable spec. So MS were forced to keep XP around for much longer than they expected. It was supposed to be end of sales last year.
XP could be sold for next to nothing, as the development costs were paid long ago. Not so with Vista and 7. And people are beginning to get the idea that they are not bound to take what they are given these days. Many have expereinced the pain of OS upgrade for the first time, and the unavoidable orphaned hardware and software.
Netbooks are so much cheaper than a laptop that it is next to impossible to hide the cost of Windows in the price. Especially if the same maker decides to sell a Linux version, so MS must provide a special netbook version. Ever wondered why it was so hard to find a Linux netbook and an XP netbook of the same spec at the same location?
Problem is.. What is a netbook?
Unless MS defines exactly what it is, they risk the OEMs defining more and more powerful netbooks, and putting the cheap Windows version on them.
Personally, If I was an OEM, I'd mention my plans to have a 12 inch netbook with hybrid storage, 4 gig memory and a dual core processor running Linux ready for the Christmas sales period, and see if they shifted their position. This could get interesting. Especially if the OEMs smell blood in the water.
"12 inch netbook with hybrid storage, 4 gig memory and a dual core processor"
How could that be considered a netbook by any stretch of the imagination?
And people bitch about Apple's iron fist and regulations on certain things.
...
Like not being able to (legally) put their OS on any netbook at all? That is a tad bit more extreme than what MS is doing...
Absolutely, but it doesn't make their actions any better. I'm not saying that Apple invented corporate doucheness or are the only practitioners, but Microsoft doing this doesn't help anyone
Um, doesn't Apple stop people from using their OS on ANY system that isn't theirs? This is lame, but doesn't even COMPARE to Apple's level of doosh-baggery.
I don't think you have to sell an OS to OEMs, what I do find a bit galling is manufacturers being told what to do with their licenses after being sold them.
I don't, in fact I never think about Apple until someone mentions them here or on Giz. I use Windows7/xp on all of my comps. and think MS will make a great addition to our(USA) socio-facist government. But right now I'm writing this via my Ubuntu Live USB....suckers.
I have a problem with this, and I don't have a problem with Apple's policy on OS X. Let me explain.
Windows has always been sold to run on any reasonably current x86 platform. As an OEM you could basically configure any machine, anyway you wanted and sell it with Windows, and as a consumer you can purchase Windows and install it on anything capable of running it. This is what is what I like most about windows. The problem for Microsoft is that XP is a really good operating system, and Vista is not. I don't want to get into a Vista / XP discussion, but for most users XP is better than Vista simply because most people are very familiar with it, and it does everything they need it to do (browse, email, solitaire), and Vista is just different enough and slower enough as to be frustrating to the average user. This configuration basically means that there is no reason for the average consumer to upgrade to Vista or probably Windows 7, or even have a desire to get it.
I am OK with Apple restricting OS X because, A, Apple makes computers (where as Microsoft does not) and B, OS X is not, and never has been sold as stand alone for any computer. It is sold for Macs, period, compared to Windows which is sold for anything. Now, some of you may not like that fact, but Apple hasn't arbitrarily changes the rules with OS X, where as Microsoft has. IMO Microsoft is the bigger douche in this case. Instead of restricting the sales of XP, they should make an operating system that people actually want to upgrade to. We will see if Windows 7 is that OS. Forcing you customers to do something they really don't want to do, but have no choice, is a great way to get them to buy a Mac...
Goddamn, I'd hate to be the an SEO in charge of marketing douche or douche-related products the way you all talk.
Good English.
GayLord Perry
M$=B$
That's right, lets fuck MSI for trying to make our software run faster. All in sake of, I don't know, forcing them to OEM a Vista Starter or something?
Sometimes MS acts all tyranny just for fun, it seems.
I had initially read your last line as "act all tranny." LOL
And I'm not that great with the working of computers. How does the hybrid storage make the software run quicker? I thought that was a function of RAM and processor speed.
Flash drives have faster read speed than normal hard drives. So by putting the OS files on the SSD, it allows for faster boot times and makes background routines a bit faster. Considering this is a netbook, those little increases add up to a nearly usable experience.
So really, Microsoft is making no sense here.
M$ doesn't want anyone buying XP. That's all there is to it.