[Jason Dunn]

There's been copious amounts of speculation on this subject, but it looks like we finally have the answer: it seems most netbooks are going to ship with Windows 7 Starter, not Windows 7 Basic, and the impact (at least in Canada) is a $50 price point jump. Case in point: Future Shop, one of the big-box electronics chains in Canada (owned by Best Buy), is touting their Windows 7 line-up of netbooks. Among them are products from HP, Samsung, and Toshiba. Looking at the HP Mini 110, and comparing them spec to spec, the Windows XP version sells for $299 CAD and it's identical in every way to the Windows 7 version, which will sell for $349 CAD. We've discussed this on the site before, and the hope was that even if the overall price of netbooks went up a bit, there'd be more than just the OS update in there. Perhaps a bump from 1 GB up to 2 GB, or a dual-core Atom processor? No such luck.

So the question becomes, is the license for Windows 7 Starter really $50 CAD more than Windows XP? Highly doubtful - a $50 license fee is in the realm of what HP would pay for Windows 7 Home Premium desktop computer, and we know that Windows 7 Starter isn't going to be the cheap. So is this a case of the netbooks OEMs looking for ways to bump up the price of netbooks to eek out some more profit? It's certainly possible - netbooks have razor-thin margins, and I'm sure HP, Dell, and others would do anything they could to make them more profitable...and a new operating system changes the value proposition for consumers, giving them an opportunity to do so.

So what does it mean for users to have Windows 7 Starter edition? This Wikipedia article outlines the basics, and for the most part the missing features aren't a bit deal to the average consumer, save one: you can't change the desktop wallpaper. This is one of the the most basic functions of Windows, and it's one that consumers have been using to make their computer feel more personalized for well over a decade now...and Microsoft takes that away? It seems needlessly stupid of them to remove that feature, especially given the $50 price jump we're seeing.

Mark my words, that will be the one thing that average consumers will notice, and complain about. There are a bunch of photo viewer/organizer applications out there that have "Set picture as desktop wallpaper" options, and they're all going to fail on these new netbooks. Never before in the history of Windows has this functionality been removed on a product that's designed to go out to millions and millions of consumers that were previously used to that feature. I imagine that the companies selling customized netbooks online - like Dell - are going to see a lot of upgrades to Windows Home Premium, further enhancing their profits and making netbooks more expensive for consumers.

[Jason Dunn]

There's been copious amounts of speculation on this subject, but it looks like we finally have the answer: it seems most netbooks are going to ship with Windows 7 Starter, not Windows 7 Basic, and the impact (at least in Canada) is a $50 price point jump. Case in point: Future Shop, one of the big-box electronics chains in Canada (owned by Best Buy), is touting their Windows 7 line-up of netbooks. Among them are products from HP, Samsung, and Toshiba. Looking at the HP Mini 110, and comparing them spec to spec, the Windows XP version sells for $299 CAD and it's identical in every way to the Windows 7 version, which will sell for $349 CAD. We've discussed this on the site before, and the hope was that even if the overall price of netbooks went up a bit, there'd be more than just the OS update in there. Perhaps a bump from 1 GB up to 2 GB, or a dual-core Atom processor? No such luck.

So the question becomes, is the license for Windows 7 Starter really $50 CAD more than Windows XP? Highly doubtful - a $50 license fee is in the realm of what HP would pay for Windows 7 Home Premium desktop computer, and we know that Windows 7 Starter isn't going to be the cheap. So is this a case of the netbooks OEMs looking for ways to bump up the price of netbooks to eek out some more profit? It's certainly possible - netbooks have razor-thin margins, and I'm sure HP, Dell, and others would do anything they could to make them more profitable...and a new operating system changes the value proposition for consumers, giving them an opportunity to do so.

So what does it mean for users to have Windows 7 Starter edition? This Wikipedia article outlines the basics, and for the most part the missing features aren't a bit deal to the average consumer, save one: you can't change the desktop wallpaper. This is one of the the most basic functions of Windows, and it's one that consumers have been using to make their computer feel more personalized for well over a decade now...and Microsoft takes that away? It seems needlessly stupid of them to remove that feature, especially given the $50 price jump we're seeing.

Mark my words, that will be the one thing that average consumers will notice, and complain about. There are a bunch of photo viewer/organizer applications out there that have "Set picture as desktop wallpaper" options, and they're all going to fail on these new netbooks. Never before in the history of Windows has this functionality been removed on a product that's designed to go out to millions and millions of consumers that were previously used to that feature. I imagine that the companies selling customized netbooks online - like Dell - are going to see a lot of upgrades to Windows Home Premium, further enhancing their profits and making netbooks more expensive for consumers.

[Jason Dunn]

Dell Canada at least is offering no upgrade for Windows 7 Starter: they're selling a Mini 10v with no upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. I find that very surprising!

[ptyork]

This surprises you since PC makers used the unwarranted anti-Vista FUD to charge $50+ more to "downgrade" back to XP?

I am a little surprised to see Starter offered outside of the developing world since it was so vocally proclaimed that "we'd never see it here." I guess since they upped it's specs they decided it was okay for North American consumption.

Incidentally, the inability to change the background must have been put in place so that the PC manufacturers (or perhaps wireless carriers) could effectively obtain permanent advertising space in the background. Seems that by upping the price they are having their cake and eating it too. I think you are right, though. There will be some backlash and when the dust settles, so will the premiums.

[ptyork]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

Dell Canada at least is offering no upgrade for Windows 7 Starter: they're selling a Mini 10v with no upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. I find that very surprising!

That is surprising since such upgrades would be almost pure profit margin for Dell. However, I think the Windows Anytime Upgrade program will allow for quick and easy upgrades for those that want to go this route. Hmm, come to think of it, it may well be a provision of the license that manufacturers can't offer both Starter and an upgrade option--offsetting the lower licensing costs by funneling all potential upgrades directly to MS.

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by ptyork

Incidentally, the inability to change the background must have been put in place so that the PC manufacturers (or perhaps wireless carriers) could effectively obtain permanent advertising space in the background.

That's a side-effect I think - the real reason is Microsoft wanting to make Starter edition as unattractive as possible to the OEMs so that the only place they'd use it would be in emerging markets, etc. It doesn't seem to have worked.

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by ptyork

However, I think the Windows Anytime Upgrade program will allow for quick and easy upgrades for those that want to go this route.

You know, you could very well be right! Hrm...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...-overview.aspx

Well look at that - there *is* no Anytime Upgrade from Starter! That really surprises me...I wonder if that's really the case...

EDIT: Whoops, that was for Vista...

[ptyork]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

Well look at that - there *is* no Anytime Upgrade from Starter! That really surprises me...I wonder if that's really the case...

That was for Vista. Try this link since nothing about 7 seems to be up on the official MS site:

http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/win...k-pricing.aspx

Looks like a USD $79 upgrade.

Incidentally, I was wrong. It was Home Basic that isn't making it "here," not Starter. Also, are you sure about not being able to change the desktop background? I see where you don't get "Aero Background," which is the background slideshow capability, but I don't see where you can't simply set a static picture as the background in starter...

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by ptyork

That was for Vista. Try this link since nothing about 7 seems to be up on the official MS site...Looks like a USD $79 upgrade.

Good catch!

Originally Posted by ptyork

Also, are you sure about not being able to change the desktop background?

Straight from the source:

http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/win...7-starter.aspx

I keep meaning to install Windows 7 Basic on one of my netbooks just to see what it's like, never got around to it...

[ptyork]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

Straight from the source...

Wow, that's FAR worse than I thought! I didn't care much about the background image, but the inability to change the fonts and colors, especially on these ittt-bitty screens, makes this a non-starter (pun intended) for older folks--like over-40 "older"--or anyone like me with poor eyesight. Seriously bad mojo, MS. Now you have to pay $80 to get large fonts or high-contrast? Even for folks without bad eyes the high contrast is almost necessary for outdoor use. Really, this was a bad decision. Removal of all of the other features was okay, but this was bad. I actually now think removing the three app limit was a bad thing since it made this a viable version.

Any idea what the price difference is for high volume OEM's between this and Home Premium? $10? Uugh!

[doogald]

Boy, you'd think that disabling the use of Windows Starter to share files from (i.e., it can be a SMB client but not server) would be a smarter limitation than the inability to customize the background.