Windows 7 could be sold on thumb drives, but probably not

As you know, Windows 7 pre-orders begin today (unless you're lucky enough to be in Europe, that is). This of course begs the question: what is a Win7-aspiring netbook owner to do? External optical drives are pretty kludgey, in our estimation, and trip to the Geek Squad? Out of the question. According to CNET, a "source" of some sort is goin' around saying that Microsoft is planning on making the OS available on USB thumb drives for the ultra-portable market, although we feel that such devices are best left to the college students who rely on campus computer labs -- or the occasional J.Lo album. As for Microsoft, they've said nothing about any of this, although we have noticed that its online store has all three upgrades (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate) available for pre-order download (at $49.99, $99.99, and $219.99 respectively). Problem solved, right?

[mahmud @ Jun 26th 2009 1:53PM]

this post could be necessary, but probably not.

[DBrim @ Jun 26th 2009 1:57PM]

The same could be said about your comment (or maybe not).

[robpetrin @ Jun 26th 2009 2:37PM]

What if we're all just an autistic child's dream? This existence is a farce!

[OneLove @ Jun 26th 2009 2:47PM]

...and the cake is a lie!.

[GRAMMAR POLICE @ Jun 26th 2009 7:04PM]

Yes I have an idea for Engadget's next article.

"Windows 7 could come with a free photo book of Clint Eastwood, but probably not."

Or even better, "All new laptops could be $30 cheaper, but probably won't be."

These are all gold.

[Get it @ Jun 28th 2009 5:43PM]

Neat, I could use a free 64GB thumb drive or the 16 GB of the Starter Edition...

[Adam @ Jun 26th 2009 1:55PM]

I would like my home premium copy that I just pre-ordered to be on a thumb drive, but that would cost to much IMO.

[Drew Green @ Jun 26th 2009 3:39PM]

I purchased a 4gb thumbdrive for $9.99 (which I could get for even less now) a year ago. In bulk, I'm sure that MS could afford to spend a little extra for the thumbdrive version.

[Precurse @ Jun 26th 2009 4:34PM]

Even if Microsoft could get 4GB USB thumbdrives (by the way, isn't the ISO 7GB?) for $2-$3 each, I don't see them going that way. They're more likely to include a "utility" to easily allow you to package the install disk to USB. Think about how much profit margins they'd lose going flash vs. DVD. Sure, it doesn't seem like much (it's only a few dollars!) but when you sell thousands upon thousands of media, it really cuts into your profit margins.

I can buy a 100 spindle of 4.37GB dvd for $15 at Costco - it costs them less to press them.

Look at the cost difference.

[Buzz @ Jun 26th 2009 7:18PM]

@Precurse:

the way i see it, instead of selling Win7 Ultra for $300, or whatever it is they're selling it for, it would be like selling it for 5-10 bucks less in terms of profit. It does add up after enough copies but what i'm saying is that it's only a minor deviation. heck, i'd pay the extra $5-10 to get it on a thumbdrive. Why ? Cause i know it won't affect the digital information stored on it if i scratch it !

- more robust media
- faster deployment of their new OS
- smaller formfactor
- easier deployment on DVD-rom-less systems
- sexy and innovative (?)

Yeah, that last one may not be appropriate for MS but hey ! They should at least try a limited edition or smth.

[Quixotic @ Jun 26th 2009 7:54PM]

Thumb drives as a more robust media? For day-to-day use, yeah, sure. But for long term storage, optical is still the way to go. Most people will need to actually use the install for Win7 a handful of times over the 2-3(?) year life-span of the product. Using the install so little, it really shouldn't be hard to take care of the disk. Now, as to long term storage, it's well known that flash has problems when it comes to long-term data storage. I don't think I know anyone who hasn't had a perfectly good thumb drive just stop working (e.g., not reading drive, corrupted files, etc.) Optical, on the other hand, if taken care of (see: don't scratch the thing) can hold data for a very long time.

Once costs for each media are factored in, then optical is most definitely the way to go.

[James @ Jun 27th 2009 2:03AM]

I could see them just charging an extra 5 or 10 bucks for it to come on a flash drive...Actually they would probably charge more.

[GadgetGeek @ Jun 27th 2009 6:48PM]

or...
http://dotnetwizard.net/vista-stuff/tips-how-to-bootinstall-windows-7vista-from-usb-flashhard-drive/

and poof... it's on a usb...

[tinosoli @ Jun 26th 2009 1:55PM]

That's okay. We wouldn't want Giampaolo to struggle with a thumb drive. His hands are really huge, you know.

[NakedOldGuy @ Jun 26th 2009 1:56PM]

Microsoft should give Vista users free upgrades to 7. Seriously - this OS is such shit that I MUST switch. And I PAYED for Vista... what makes Microsoft think I want to dole out hundreds of dollars just to find out that 7 is worse than Vista?

[MilkIt0202 @ Jun 26th 2009 1:58PM]

payed eh? awesome...

[PeterF @ Jun 26th 2009 2:00PM]

You probably downloaded a bunch of shit on your computer or do not even own Vista. I have been running it since RTM and it is way better than XP. I would never go back to XP from Vista and especially 7.

[Ruben @ Jun 26th 2009 2:02PM]

No they shouldn't.

If I had used this RC and saw that there is little benefit, then I wouldn't have picked up 2 licenses today.

50 bucks for a 7 license? Why the hell not? Why not 2 or more?

The cost more than justifies the updates to the OS. I enjoyed Vista, and don't feel I deserve a free upgrade, because I don't believe the horse shit that is mentioned on the web regarding Vista.

[mbentley @ Jun 26th 2009 2:02PM]

if you are that worried about windows 7 sucking, why don't you download the RC and try it out?

[Templarian @ Jun 26th 2009 2:03PM]

@NakedOldGuy, that's why they released the RC free for a full year. Some large companies have already switched.

[murmermer @ Jun 26th 2009 2:03PM]

PETERF works for microsoft

[WeakSasco @ Jun 26th 2009 2:04PM]

Well given your experience with Vista, when 7 comes out MS knows you'll be smart enough to have "payed" for an upgrade...

[Richard @ Jun 26th 2009 2:15PM]

"Some large companies have already switched."

Can you name one? I don't think any large company would risk their business by switching to the release candidate version of an operating system. Most won't even switch until after the first service pack. Why do you feel the need to lie in order to promote Microsoft's operating systems?

[OneLove @ Jun 26th 2009 2:50PM]

"Can you name one?..." Yeah, Microsoft!

[Anton @ Jun 26th 2009 2:52PM]

Should have put that money towards school instead.

[teej @ Jun 26th 2009 3:20PM]

i've learned several valuable lessons on the internet:

1) no one's opinion on the internet matters.
2) anyone's opinion, who spells 'paid' as 'payed,' definitely doesn't matter.

[jaime @ Jun 26th 2009 1:57PM]

If you download an OS, don't you need an OS to begin with? And how do you install an OS with an OS already installed without creating a new partition? You would be stuck with 2 OS' or an empty partition if you uninstall the old OS afterwards.

[Khalid Shahin @ Jun 26th 2009 2:01PM]

You can boot from the USB drive, can you not?

[jaime @ Jun 26th 2009 2:05PM]

Well that would depend on what the download format is. Can you just dump it in an USB and have it boot up?

[Jorvay @ Jun 26th 2009 2:32PM]

Linux Live CDs are great for this type of thing. Ubuntu's default install disk is a LiveCD. The only catch is that once you use it, you might not bother installing windows.

[JamesR @ Jun 26th 2009 2:32PM]

1) Download OS
2) Burn to DVD or copy to USB drive
3) Boot off media of choice and install OS.

There are other solutions I'm sure but those are the two that come to mind. I've installed it about a half dozen times off a USB stick and think it's the way to go.

[smp @ Jun 26th 2009 2:35PM]

Since the idea would be to upgrade your primary OS, I would imagine that if MS were to ship it on USB drives, that yes, they would put it in that format. Contrary to popular belief, there are in fact at least several intelligent people working there.

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2009 2:38PM]

Worst case scenario:
You have to drive to the nearest public library and order an Ubuntu CD via Shipit.

[Alex @ Jun 26th 2009 1:59PM]

In Soviet Russia, Windows 7 sells thumb drives on you!

[Dave @ Jun 26th 2009 2:00PM]

I think it'd be great if Microsoft shipped 7 on flash drives. I suppose it'd be a bit pricier than shipping DVDs, but when you factor in the huge plastic case 7 is currently set to ship in, Microsoft could save some serious money by reducing the shipping weight per-install and potentially increasing shipping pallet density tenfold. It would be a huge win for MS on the front of conserving packaging and CO2.

[Look_Around_You @ Jun 26th 2009 2:05PM]

I rather have a DVD to make backup copies.

What would really be cool is if OSs were on ROM cartridges that just plugged into the computer.

Similar to what we have on smart phones.

[Major4Play @ Jun 26th 2009 3:28PM]

No it wouldn't, thumb drives would be great but a thumb drive consumes alot more resources to manufacture than a plastic dvd case, and since a dvd in a case weighs very little I think your whole enviromental angle is bullshit, like most enviromental nonsense.

[ddub @ Jun 26th 2009 8:06PM]

Yes I want my windows 7 on a sega genesis cart. It's more convenient for me (don't ask why), so I think Microsoft should do it.

[rcarm @ Jun 26th 2009 2:01PM]

Installing Windows from a flash drive is a lot faster than from a DVD.

[GRAMMAR POLICE @ Jun 27th 2009 12:29PM]

Fascinating.

[confused @ Jun 26th 2009 2:03PM]

wouldn't the usb drive be for people who would prefer not to use a cd drive, aka those with netbooks and other ultraportable? seems however flatley is referring to having windows 7 run from the usb drive itself. either way, i'd be interested

[murmermer @ Jun 26th 2009 2:04PM]

or for people who have a Macbook AIR

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2009 2:40PM]

Haha, MacBook Air.. trouble is, it can't boot over USB unless the device is 'blessed' and the OS on it doesn't use BIOS calls...
..so, for non-OS X operating systems, USB boot simply doesn't work.

[Zac @ Jun 26th 2009 2:09PM]

You can just make your thumb drive bootable, then copy all the files from the install disc to the thumb drive, and it'll install right off the thumb drive. You, of course, need a computer with a disc drive to do the copy, though.

[Zac @ Jun 26th 2009 2:10PM]

http://www.eeeguides.com/2007/12/install-windows-vista-from-usb-flash.html

[Grammar freak @ Jun 26th 2009 2:10PM]

Hmm, the kludgy way I can think fo doing this would be via Gparted. Download iso via torrent or over home network, create a second bootable partition, image the iso into it, boot from it, install to bigger partition, delete installer partition and use gparted to reclaim the installer partition into the main partition.

[Ed Beck @ Jun 26th 2009 2:16PM]

Pretty funny that they would even say that Geek Squad could install it on your netbook. The cost of the OS plus the cost of the install would add up to more than the price of a new one. Of course, they already knew that.

[Setnev @ Jun 28th 2009 7:35PM]

Screw the Geek Squad, it's all about EasyTech now. Cheaper, better, and certified technicians. For those who don't know, EasyTech is the second largest retail tech firm, and it is wholly owned by Staples.

[Matt @ Jun 26th 2009 2:16PM]

Thank God someone else knows the truth!

[Ryujin @ Jun 26th 2009 2:19PM]

If they give you the option to download it, just give an option for bootable usb drives. I wouldn't see the problem with just giving the option and creating a small supply for those who might want it. Also with the option just have right next to it (+5.99), I'm sure at wholesale price a 3gb drive wouldn't be that much even if its one of those micro drives.