I am cruising in the passenger seat along I-95 in Maine ready to post thanks for my Verizon VZAccess mobile broadband. It’s the version that comes bundled with and built into an HP Mini 1000 Model 1151r. No card or gadget to plug in.
Quite honestly, I’ve had some problems with it so stay tuned for the full review next week.
Damn, that tractor trailer is close!
As expected, Microsoft has eliminated the limitation of running up to only three applications at once in Windows Starter edition, the netbook operating system.
The announcement was made in The Windows Blog and emphasized that Windows 7 Starter edition is still alive and well. Windows 7 Starter lacks many features found in the Home Premium and Professional versions – both considered full versions of Windows 7. Now users can run as many applications as their hardware can reasonably support instead of being cut off at three.
I posted a Windows 7 strategy story earlier today that originally stated Microsoft was sticking with the limitation which is what I was told by two Windows 7 executives on Wednesday. Shortly afterward, I knew tonight’s blog post was coming and changed the story accordingly.
According to the blog, Starter still does not include the following features found in the full versions of Windows 7.
Nothing has officially changed with Microsoft’s position that Windows 7 Starter edition will only run three applications simultaneously, but rumors that surfaced last week that the limitation would be scrapped will likely become fact…and shortly. System utilities and multiple windows open in a single application do not count toward the limit.
That the limit was still official was according to Microsoft director of netbook PC marketing Don Paterson and senior Windows product manager Stefan Kinnestrand. I interviewed them together for an hour Wednesday to figure out what consumers will be see on netbooks when Windows 7 emerges this Fall in time for the holiday shopping season.
Here’s what we know…or knew. Windows 7 Starter Edition will be preloaded onto certain netbooks, mostly the ones with least power, the fewest features and the lowest price. If users wish to upgrade, they can choose the WAU or Windows Anytime Upgrade just like with Vista.
Assuming that the three app limit goes away, Starter and WAU could become history. The question becomes does Starter go away or does it just lose the limitation. Or something else.
“Users can upgrade their machine to Home Premium in 10 minutes or less so there is no buyer’s remorse,” says Paterson, still behaving as if the limit will be in force when Windows 7 debuts in the Fall (it won’t). Pricing for the WAU or any Windows 7 versions has yet to be announced. Paterson tried to allay fears about the three application limit especially given how smoothly Windows 7 Ultimate already runs on netbooks (see my review).
“Usually when we do a demo, the reaction is much less onerous when you see it person than read about it in print. A dialog box informs the user they have to reached the maximum number of applications and must close one [to launch another,],” says Paterson. ZDNet’s Ed Bott does a nice job listing all the exclusions and has screen shot of the dialog box that warns “Maximum Number of Programs is Already Open.”
However, my sources indicate this will shortly be history when “rumors become fact REALLY soon” which I take to be imminently. Clearly placing such a false restriction on Windows 7 posed tremendous risk for Microsoft which faces competition on netbooks from Ubuntu and Android.
The two primary versions of Windows 7 are Home Edition which presently differ from Starter in that it has richer media features and no application limit. Windows 7 Professional is aimed at small business and work at homers who function within an IT environment and thus require certain security features. Microsoft officials have been on record saying these two versions will make up 80% or more of the market. A third version, Windows 7 Ultimate, is the current release candidate combines all the features of the Professional and Home editions.
“There was a couple of things we wanted to do with Windows 7 such as making sure it runs well on all PC hardware, that it shuts down faster and to make we optimize the memory and storage footprint. The second goal was if to offer wide choice and that it has entry level, premium or professional experiences,” says Kinnestrand.
Choice, however, will be as important for retailers and PC makers as it will for consumers, according to Paterson.
“If you’re Best Buy, you think price points like $100, $249 and $399. [Starter] will better enable the lower end of the category,” he says. “It’s up to the Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) how they want to build [netbooks]. They can run different editions to create offerings at different price points,” he says.
The pair also believes that netbooks still have headroom to grow even though some have “morphed” in what more accurately could be described as notebook PCs.
“The underlying assumption is that netbooks are small PC notebooks. Users [with Windows 7] will no longer have to distinguish between notebooks and netbooks. We are optimistic about growth rate through the next year,” says Paterson, who adds that the theme for netbooks this holiday season will be “thin and light” which are two characteristics we’re to already seeing in netbooks introduced during the past month.
What’s more, he doesn’t see price as the dominant factor in netbook buying decisions.
“The economy has played a key role in the low cost nature of netbooks, but the data we look at isn’t just about low price. Netbooks are companion PC devices. [Typical buyers] make more than $75,000, are in their forties and tend toward the $399 and $449 price points. By and large, the data we see is that people are not driven by price [with netbooks].”
Windows 7 will also push the notion that netbooks serve as companions to more powerful notebooks or desktop PCs. According to Kinnestrand, that’s why Microsoft built Homegroups into Windows 7 (I want to play with Homegroups, but I only have Windows 7 installed on one netbook at the moment. It promises to allow users to share file and media libraries between Windows 7-based PCs).
If Microsoft is nervous about the emergence of Linux variants Ubuntu or Android on netbooks, they are not showing it.
“We have 97% share in the U.S. and more than 90% in 15 of the 16 geographies we track. Windows has a billion users. Ultimately, consumers are drawn to familiarity and compatibility. Android has the same flaws that any Linux variant – lack of compatibility and an unfamiliar user interface,” says Kinnestrand.
[In the name of fairness, I have contacted the Android folks at the Open Source Project to their side of the story, but have not heard back.]
My favorite Ubuntu site workswithu.com is reporting that Canonical, Ubuntu’s commercial sponsor, will (or already has) demoed Android applications running on Ubuntu at its Developer Summit this week in Barcelona. I hope the developers didn’t get trampled by crazed soccer fans celebrating Barcelon’a win over Manchester United. Worswithu editor Joe Panettieri’s story is the best I’ve seen on the topic and take it from me, Joe (a former Ziff Davis colleague) is one reliable source. I will link to his update on this topic when he posts.
I’ve been heads down with Windows 7 for the better part of a week and interviewed two of Microsoft’s Windows 7 on netbook gurus at length yesterday. I hope to post what I learned from that interview by end of day tomorrow as well as my testing. In fact, The Dodge Retort now has a special section dedicated to coverage of Windows 7 on netbooks. Also, longtime technology watcher Nick Wingfield in the Wall Street Journal this morning beat up on Linux variants such as Ubuntu for having device compitbility issues – something Microsoft trumpets as being nearly bulletproof with Windows.
Shortly, I also will have a review of the Verizon mobile wireless service on the HP Mini 1000 model 1151r netbook.
One thing I looked for in an operating system is predictability meaning it will work the way I anticipate. Windows 7 in its attempt to automate functions and deliver every imaginable feature falls down on this front. Unanticipated things occur, some good, some bad. Whoever said Windows was simple?
Yours truly high up on St. Bartholomew's Cathedral in Plzen. WIndows 7 does a great job of organizing photos.
Case in point: I never recall turning on the picture Slide Show viewer. The surprise was somewhat serendipitous because it allows me to automatically view the hundreds of shots I took on a recent trip to Europe. I like this applet. Hey, there’s Dvorak’s grave…and Smetana’s. That’s son Chris and wife Ann high above the Voltava River in Prague. That’s me high up clinging to side of St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral in Plzen, Czech Republic. Very nice. Photos appear in user-defined increments of five seconds to five minutes with optional transitions. This very nice applet is easy enough to shut down so no complaint there, but I don’t recall activating it (as it turns out, a single click turns it on – Libraries->Pictures->Slide Show).
On a related note, Windows 7 does a vastly superior job of organizing files. To me, the Libraries feature as I come from XP is one of the best in Windows 7. It offers relief from the usual unorganized mess of photos, music, videos and documents that quickly accumulate year after year. Kudos on this, Microsoft.
It’s a different story with Narrator, the overbearing voice-guide to Windows 7 for the vision-challenged. Run the mouse over the icons and the voice spits out a rapid-fire jumble of definitions like “checkbox, exit button, application, focus on start button, show desktop, running application toolbar with five buttons.” Huh? Granted, I turned on Narrator (click on Programs->Accessories-> Ease of Access), but often it’s describing that seems to have no relationship where I am in Windows. Worse, it only sort of shuts off. Searching help with “Shut Off Narrator” yielded zero results. I exit the program and it keeps working (Windows has a habit of making you feel like it’s your fault).
One other feature I’ve played around with is the Network and Sharing Center which most of us use to find a Wifi hotspot. It functions the same way as the same way as Wifi manager in XP, but looks different for no advantage that I can immediately detect. It’s just another thing to learn although that happens quickly. Features like this seem the next model year of a car that you don’t need. Maybe as I dig down, I’ll find the Network and Sharing Center is vastly superior to its XP counterpart, but wouldn’t it be nice if there was no need to a network center. You just connect. That’s coming some day.
A nit with Windows 7 which should be fixed once it’s commercially available is no Windows 7 option for downloading Flash, Adobe Air and presumably other applications. I clicked on the “Vista/XP/2003/2000″ option and after several tries, it downloaded, but Flash applications do not run reliably. And I can’t Air-based tweetdeck to run.
As for performance and reliability, Windows 7 on my netbook continues to do fine. I have to keep telling myself to give the myriad features on it a chance.
Shut this off already!
Windows 7 desktop
It’s no secret Windows 7 runs perfectly fine on netbooks which I have now discovered for myself. I installed the release candidate Build 7100 yesterday morning on my Lenovo IdeaPad S10 Model 4231 with only a few minor hitches.
Windows 7 appears to be a better Windows. Vastly better? I don’t know yet, but will report my revelations as I pound on it. The big thing Microsoft seems to have done is lots of little things. My first impression is positive given Windows 7 has performed well with no application hitting the skids as they so often do in XP. Then again, third party programs usually are the ones that hang and since I have downloaded only Tweetdeck and Firefox, smooth operation should not be a surprise.
[Unfortunately, word is most netbooks will come pre-installed with a Windows 7 Starter edition which I presume to be something less than the Windows 7 “Ultimate” edition I am running. Reports surfaced Friday that Microsoft will abandon limiting Starter to running only three applications at once. My former Ziff Davis colleague Ed Bott has a good piece on it. Motivation for Starter editions on netbooks and small notebooks appears to be driven by economics given full Windows 7 can run on any Atom processor-based netbook with moderate capacities such a 1 GB RAM and a small hard drive. I’ll shine more light on the Windows 7 netbook strategy mid-next week after I interview some Windows 7 folks.]
The goal of my testing was to see how well or badly Windows 7 ran on a netbook and describe the `out of the box’ experience you might have as opposed to providing a comprehensive soup-to-nuts review. I try to walk in the shoes of Joe and Jane Sixpack netbook user. You can find out everything about Windows 7 at any number of tech sites and Microsoft offers a decent features overview in which it promises faster and more efficient performance, greater ease of use and expanded media capabilities, all based on user feedback.
Rather than burn an installation DVD from a downloaded ISO disk image which is what Microsoft recommends, I used an 8GB USB memory thumb stick to create what amounted to the installation disk. That worked fine after I unpacked the ISO setup file using a trial version on WinRAR (thanks for the suggestion, Chrystioff. Worked like charm). My apologies to those who expected a Windows 7 on a netbook review in the last PC Pitstop newsletter. My aging DVD drive didn’t work and I ran out of time before a long-planned vacation to Prague and Vienna…now you really feel bad for me, don’t you?
Setup was easy with Windows 7 immediately finding my Wifi network without any prompting so I was off running. A review of the beta said there were some problems with Wifi recognition, but none occurred for me. Upon booting up, I can choose between XP or Windows 7 so it appears that the version of XP that came on the netbook originally is preserved (Windows 7 also has a an XP Mode for running XP applications). This is important because the version of Windows 7 I am running expires next March 1.
In summary, Windows 7 is more graphical and automated than XP. With features like Jump Lists, Windows 7 tries to zero on your most recent activity and position it closer to you. For example, more graphically descriptive icons of, for instance, your browsers, libraries and jump lists to the task bar as opposed to a wholesale redesign of Windows. Run your mouse over them and up pops mini windows showing what you did last rather than a mere 2-3 word static description.
The Start button is still there as are cascading menus and as usual, Windows proficiency rises with more stuff you can find. Still, there’s an awful lot there to overwhelm newbie users. For netbooks, maybe all some of us need are a browser and couple of applets, but I digress….
My first test was the timing boot up and shutdown and I noticed little or no improvement over XP on a netbook. Three shutdowns averaged 29 seconds and as many boot ups 32 seconds to password entry. This is disappointing, but if Windows 7 will reliably shutdown without hanging on an “end program” as is almost always the case with XP, there will be a bit of a time savings. And it has one click shutdown which is new for me. I like the “show desktop” feature that makes the minimized application windows obscuring your desktop go opaque, but applications in full window mode like the browser still have to be minimized to get out of the way. Like I said, Windows 7 focuses on little things such as better organization.
The handiest applet I’ve discovered so far is the “Snipping Tool” which performs piecemeal of entire screen captures. Snipping Tool was introduced in Vista, but like me many users will come to Windows 7 from XP and will be seeing it for the first time. Flexible screen capture hasn’t always been easy for me. The Snipping Tool fixes that.
Two other applets are Magnifier and Narrator. Magnifier enlarges or shrinks the display contents and has been in previous versions of Windows, but in Windows 7 is now a magnifying glass. Click on it and up come the applet. This is an important tool for netbooks given their smaller displays. Narrator audibly describes the screen contents for the blind or persons with vision problems. If you don’t need it, don’t use it. It will drive you proportionately nuttier the faster you move the mouse across the display’s contents. And ever though I thought shut it off, it didn’t shut up (in fact, I am exiting it now for umpteenth time).
Also, try out the gadgets. The CPU and memory meter seems to indicate Windows 7 taxes system resources more heavily than in a more powerful machine, often running at 60-70% whatever that means exactly. Bottom line, though, Windows 7 performance on my netbook so far has been acceptable if not a bit better than XP on my desktop. Other new gadgets worth trying are the RSS reader and stock ticker.
One of the features I like best is the Libraries organizer, which for first time appears to really organize my documents, photos, videos and music in one place. I downloaded about 300 photos from our trip with ease. They preview more easily and faster than in XP for renaming purposes. For users with mounting masses of this type of content, organization is crucial, but netbooks in many cases will not be main repository for photo albums and music. Or maybe they will.
I’ve barely scratched of Windows 7 given it comes with Internet Explorer8 and Windows Media Player 11, large applications in their own right. Windows has always been PACKED with STUFF. Netbooks OSes like Ubuntu and Android take a more minimalist approach with far less demanding system requirements. Still, they have yet to prove themselves so it will be interesting to see if they can take root in the fast- growing netbook world. Do I like Windows 7? My answer is qualified yes until I use it more.
Windows 7 taskbar icons
Windows 7 Libraries
Many exciting things are on tap for The Dodge Retort and yours truly, John Dodge. From the top:
– Tomorrow, I will post my First Look at the Windows 7 Release Candidate running on a netbook. The review will also be promoted in the PC Pitstop newsletter (circ. 900k!) that goes out Tuesday so it should get great exposure.
– Dell has promised to send me an evaluation unit of its education netbook, the Latitude 2100. I will do a no-holds barred review. Trying to nab a Mini 10v, too.
– The buzz today is that Apple will do a tablet of some sort as opposed to a traditional netbook. Check out the coverage.
– I’m supposed to getting the Storm and LG Versa phones from Verizon for review. The Storm has been out a while, but I want to see why folks are opting for the Curve like I did instead of the Storm.
– On June 1, I will be blogging for ZDNet’s on smart technologies. Stayed tuned for more details in next week or two.
Have great long weekend everyone!
Dell isn’t a company that keeps quiet and then all of a sudden blasts out press releases on the product announcement day. That’s the old model.
Rather, it teases us with possibilities via its blogs. That’s exactly what it did with a video post today showing Android running on the new Dell Mini 10v.
Dell software guru Doug Anson was featured in the video showing that porting different OSes to the 10v is fairly simple. Anson said Android ran “fairly nicely” whatever that means and then put on the disclaimer:
“We don’t have any announced products plans with Android running on a netbook. We just wanted to show you it’s possible to run,” he said. The Android implementation on the 10v was running a browser, dialer and contact manager.
I have to think an Android netbook from Dell is coming, but this could also be a negotiating ploy aimed at other OS vendors, namely Microsoft. He kept emphasizing how Android and Ubuntu, the other OS he showed in the 2:12 minute video, are small and “snappy.” We know Windows XP is not small and snappy is not a word I’d associate with it either.
Judge for yourself.
Dell Latitude 2100 for Education Market
Dell confirmed it will have netbooks for education by the time kids go back to school this Fall.
Dubbed the Latitude 2100, Gizmodo scooped the story about them in late March. Starting at $369, they seem a bit pricey for what the student gets and for some reason, Dell omitted the display size in the blog post in which it released info about the machine (Gizmodo’s March story says 10 inches and in the video, it looks like a 10).
They differ from Dell Minis in that they have a rubberized case for durability, an optional touchscreen and a network monitor light that tells the teacher the student is online. It also can be securely stored in a networked case where an administrator or teacher can download software or data to up to 10 netbooks simultaneously.
Here’s the specs:
New Acer Aspire One AO751h1192
Netbooks just keep getting better.
Acer today announced two second generation netbooks — the $380 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One AO751h (TDR May 5) and the $298 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One AOD250. Both are thinner, lighter and more powerful than Acer’s first generation netbooks, according to the Acer press release.
The strategy seems to be bundle earlier models with mobile broadband and sell them dirt cheap like Acer does with its 8.9 inch model with Radio Shack and is rumored to be doing with Costco. Then they fill the vacated $300-$400 premium price band with beefier models such as the ones introduced today. Below are the specs from the Acer press release.
Acer Aspire One AO751h-1192
Acer Aspire One AOD250-1042
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