Windows 7 Netbooks

It appears Microsoft has dictated to the netbook community, as to the hardware components that will qualify a machine to be sold with Windows 7 Starter Edition Licensing. To offer a fully functionally unit under $400.00 manufacturers will have no choice but to stay within the guidelines. If manufacturers chose to upgrade the components of the system and offer Windows 7 Home Edition, I would project the units would be in the $600.00+ price range.

The netbook “hits the spot” for mobile computing. “Light weight, functional, and inexpensive”. I have been a member of the Aspire One Forum for approximately eight (8) months. Some members’ posting deal with real problems they have encountered with the Aspire and Warranty issues, many relate to hacks and mods which are for the tech savvy, who love disassembling any gadget they get their hands on, and those who never read the manual.

From the articles I have read during the development and the reviews from the release candidates of Windows 7, I am sure it will be a sound operating system. Where I see the downside to be is the way Microsoft is communicating to the general public “what and what not will be packaged in the operating system”.

I currently have an Aspire D150 which I plan to update to Windows 7, when Acer post the drivers on their website, or search manually.

 

I would also love to have windows 7, but I am not tech savvy at all.

 

The issue really comes down to price points. W7 Ultimate Beta and RC run fine on my D150, and I've read it runs fine on most of the other hdd models. Netbook manufacturers need a cheap version in order to keep the price low enough, that's why MS is considering a netbook edition with limited features, even though Ultimate will run fine. The retail price for W7 Ulitmate will be close to the price of a netbook, so it's a difficult pricing issue.

If they release W7 with the ability to install on 3 machines, and there have been rumors that they will, then I would highly suggest purchasing a full retail version for installing on your netbook, laptop, and PC.

 

What versons of Windows 7 will have an XP virtual machine built in?

If it's just the higher end versions and those versions are not available for netbooks, well that stinks.

 

In reference to the versions of Windows 7 that support virtual machine xp are Professional and Enterprise. Also the virtual machine XP download will only work if the motherboard, bios and cpu support VT. Even to install this function of Windows 7 on my desktop would require an upgrade if my hardware.

I fell this is one of Microsoft deception in promoting the new operating system, not fully explain the hardware requirements to the general public.

 

I'm sure all you guys are much smarter than me when it comes to computing, but my AOD 150 I got on the weekend now is dual boot XP and win7 (7100 version) and works just fine--Not knowing what virtualmachine or whatever is, I couldnt say whether that works or not!

I followed the tutorial here somewhere on how to partition the disc and install the '7' on the empty bit, using a memo-stick and the ISO win7 disc-image....

On boot-up, I get to choose which I want, XP or 7

 

The XP Mode will bring a Virtual PC-based environment, as well as a fully licensed version of Windows XP SP3, free for all owners of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions. This is good from a commercial point of view. Earlier, Microsoft could happily say that Windows 7 was just as compatible with software as Windows Vista, but now they can add 100% compatibility with Windows XP, too. So, for you IE6 users, you're in luck. Do not expect this to run like a proper Virtual PC; that being, a separate operating system running within a window. XP Mode will integrate itself with the Windows 7 desktop, and so the older software will run just like a normal Windows 7 application. Essentially, this is two operating systems running under an updated desktop.

A dual boot is a different animal than the virtual XP running within Windows 7.

 

I heard the virtual Win XP in Windows 7 would require Intel/AMD Virtualization technology.

But my AAO has had no problem running a Win XP virtual machine in Sun Virtualbox.

 

Ah,--Now that makes some sense....

I have a XP prog, (Autodata) loaded under 7 and this doesnt like working...

It sorta works, but not properly, and is near unusable. It works fine under the XP on same machine...

Guess this is what you mean by 'virtual-machine'....

 

A Virtual Machine uses a program (Sun Virtualbox, Microsoft Virtual PC, VM Ware (ugh)) that 'emulates' it's own hardware and runs on top of your current Operating System.

 

Just fyi. My AOA 150 is running windows 7 RC1 build 7127. I did not need to download any drivers for it. Everything seems to be working out of the box. The first time I tried installing it (build 7105 I think), the touchpad did not work.

And just for s&g. I tried a hawkings Technologies USB parabolic wifi antenna. Did not have to install any drivers for it either.

This post has been done on the above mentioned netbook with the parabolic antenna riding on some one's unsecured connection in the neighborhood