At today's launch of Window's 7, Steve Ballmer was in a good mood. After all, Microsoft's new OS is expected be a powerful rival to the Mac OS in not only power but usability.
He revealed a number of new computers from Microsoft partners at the event, all running Windows 7, but somebody failed to make it to the party: the netbook.
Ballmer is a notorious netbook hater. For all I can tell, this has to do with the fact that netbooks killed price margins for Microsoft when users elected for Windows XP over the bloated Windows Vista, which won't run on most machines. Even Michael Dell has been dropping snide remarks about the machines, and Apple has not even deigned to make one.
While Microsoft is only allowing netbook manufacturers to sell their machines with the crippled Windows 7 Starter, despite the fact that the machines run the full OS without isses. If you want to upgrade to Home Premium, however, you'll need to drop another $80 bucks.
All in all, netbooks continue to be a lasting thorn in the side of big shots even as they boost PC sales and consumer satisfaction. Ce'est la vie, Ballmer!
Via GapperBlog.
Posts
