It’s happened again. As we reported in January, Intel and Microsoft have been limiting the size and software on netbooks for fear of cannibalizing their current larger laptop markets as well as showing poor performance due to battery and processor size. We wrote:
Intel offers “guidelines” on how big a netbook can be and still run an Atom chip. The maximum seems to be 10 inches, small enough to look like a netbook. Because these low-powered chips disappoint so many buyers – think MacBook Air – putting them into anything that resembles a real laptop is tantamount to admitting that the chip isn’t powerful enough to handle regular work. Hence the moniker “netbook” and the consistently diminutive names like “nano” and “atom.”
Well, the same holds true for Win7. Digitimes is reporting that MS and Intel have reduced the upper screen-size limit for netbooks to 10.2 inches, doing two things: forcing Atom hardware to run on machines that “seem” less powerful due to their size and increasing the price of Win7 licenses for the lucrative 11-13 inch netbook market.
Digitimes notes that this puts VIA in a pickle. As makers of 11+ inch netbooks, they would now have to pay the full Win7 license on what used to be considered to fall to the lower-priced licensing rate.
Can this be considered price fixing?
I can somewhat understand the move of Intel, as I have seen a lot of people assume that Atom based computers were full laptops just because they looked like one.
The move of Microsoft is harder to understand because it will drive the price conscious consumers to smaller machines that come with starter anyway. Some may also run Linux! ( see http://www.tech-no-media.com/2009/05/windows-7-starter-and-intel-atom-not.html for details )
Why is it that Microsoft seems to want an Anti-Midas touch (you know the one that turns to $#it everything it touches)?
Let’s see, didn’t the testers test the win7 beta on netbooks already and reported that everything went ok and faster? Why then limit starter? Why not let the laptop makers place bigger netbooks (even laptops) with starter AND THEN offer the upgrades to other versions?
Greed is what ultimately seems to be Microsoft’s motto (as per usual). With HP Mini’s running their MI Experience on Ubuntu (which is gorgeous I might add) and Ubuntu Netbook Remix running flawless on many netbooks (I went and tried myself the NBR USB Live install on the acer aspire one and the toshiba netbook, it was GREAT) why the dumb move?
You’ll say “People needs Office 2007″, well it now installs and runs under Wine. But then again, Office 2007 is an overkill on a netbook…
Try it yourself, it’s free after all, get a USB, install Ubuntu’s Netbook Remix on it and test it on your netbook (like you would with a liveCD), it just works and it’s FREE!.
“it just works and it’s FREE!”
I have had NOTHING but trouble and issues with Ubuntu and OpenSuse on my notebook for over two years now.
Linux is about as FAR away from “just works” as you can get.