Video: Windows 7 demonstrated on Samsung N120 netbook

Now that the Windows 7 Release Candidate is available for public consumption, there is no excuse not to give it a try to see how it stacks against your current netbook OS. The guys over at NetbookScoop did exactly that by installing Windows 7 RC onto the Samsung N120 netbook. They do a good job of going through a number of Windows 7 features and it all seems to run smoothly on the N120.

They also compared the start-up times of the Samsung N120 against an Asus Eee PC 1000HE running Windows XP. You’ll be pleased to hear that the N120 boots up just marginally behind the 1000HE, taking around 30 seconds. Apart from that, he gives a tour of the new OS including IE8, Windows Media Player and iTunes, there’s also an example of speaker quality (although the compressed video hardly does it justice).

He said that overall installation was very smooth and that he didn’t need any additional drivers. Looking at the video, it does seem that the Windows 7 performance is reasonable snappy, although I’m not sure whether he was using 1GB or 2GB of RAM. Check out the video after the jump. Read more

Windows 7 netbook installation guide

Now that Windows 7 RC is out in the wild, there is no reason not to give it a test drive, especially if you are just curious to see how it compares to XP. The RC is actually a version of Windows 7 Ultimate and the license will last uninterrupted until March 2010, at which point you’ll start to get bi-hourly shutdowns.

For those that are contemplating a Windows 7 installation but aren’t too confident on the steps involved, then Gizmodo have come up with a handy guide, particularly tailored for netbooks. This will be particularly useful for those who don’t have USB DVD drives or enough storage space to warrant the installation. It goes through a step-by-step process starting from actually downloading the Release Candidate as well as preparing the flash drive. Head over to Gizmodo for the full guide.

Microsoft readying Windows 7 for holiday season

An official blog post from the Windows 7 team has confirmed that Windows 7 is set to launch this year. Brandon LeBlanc expects the OS to reach RTM (release-to-manufacturer) stage within 3 months and be ready in time for the holidays.

The news is hardly a surprise as a number of manufacturers had hinted of an Autumn release date. Windows 7 RC launched just last week and is a good opportunity to test how it will run on your current netbooks. As it doesn’t expire until March 2010 there’s no excuse not to give it a test drive.

Download Windows 7 RC now, lasts uninterrupted until Mar 2010

For those of you wondering how Windows 7 may fare on your beloved netbook, we thought we’d highlight that the Release Candidate is now available for public download. The great thing about the RC release, is that the license will run interrupted until 1 March 2010, plenty of time to find out if Windows 7 is right for you.

The actual RC license will not expire until 1 June 2010, but after March 1, the OS will begin to shutdown every two hours. At this point you’ll need to install a legit version of Windows 7 or choose a different OS. How does this differ from the beta you may ask? Well the beta will expire on August 1 with bi-hourly shutdowns beginning from July 1 2009. The RC’s improvements over the beta release can be found here.

For those that are impressed with Windows 7 RC on their netbook, it is worth mentioning that the RC is based on the Ultimate version of Windows 7. If you decide at a later period to buy a netbook with Windows 7 preinstalled, then it is likely it will come with the Starter Edition which has the (crippling) three application at a time limit.

To get the RC you will need to register for a product key. You can download Windows 7 RC here. Be prepared though, it’s not a quick download at 2,414MB.

ARM CEO hints at possible Windows 7 support

We should start to see a number of ARM-powered netbooks hit retail as the year ends. As ARM chips are not x86 (unlike Intel Atom), it means currently they cannot support Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. More than likely we’ll see these ARM netbooks running on Linux-variants such as Google’s Android OS. However, ARM’s CEO is hinting that Windows 7 support may be on the cards at some point in the future.

ARM recently reported its first quarter results and during the analyst conference call, ARM’s CEO, Warren East, said “Microsoft will continue to play an important part in this [netbook] space. If there was Windows support for the ARM processor today clearly it would be a very different marketplace. Perhaps there will be support in future but that’s really for Microsoft to comment on and not for us to comment on, I’m afraid.” Read more

XP on netbooks to be around for a year after Windows 7 ships

For those of you worried about the availability of Windows XP on netbooks, post the Windows 7 launch, then fear not. Microsoft will continue to offer Windows XP to netbook manufacturers for one year after Windows 7 starts to ship. Whichever way you look at it, Windows XP is the main operating system used in netbooks today. Over 90 percent of netbook shipments in US retail, during November to January, came with Windows XP according to NPD Group.

“OEMs that are using Windows XP on netbooks will have the ability to install Windows XP for one year — 12 months — after Windows 7 general availability,” said Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Windows product management group.

Windows plans to target netbooks with its Starter Edition of the Windows 7 operating system. This has been criticised by some, given its limited use in only allowing three applications to be open at one time. A release date for Windows 7 has not been confirmed so far, although recent rumours suggest that it may be as early as October this year.

Via ComputerWorld.

Microsoft making just $15 per netbook XP license

The two main operating systems that you will find on netbooks at this present time are either Linux or Windows XP. The majority of netbooks tend to have XP preinstalled, but in retail generally, there is a lack of options allowing you to choose exactly which operating system suits you. Some consumers would rather save money by choosing Linux and often it is very difficult to work back how much Microsoft is charging for each XP license. However a Wall Street Journal report indicates that this amount is just $15.

This has been a deliberate strategy by Microsoft to gain market share in a segment where it had just a 10 percent foothold when netbooks first started to emerge back in 2007. Fast forward to present time and this has swung Microsoft’s way, with approximately three out of four netbooks sold with XP last year.

But why would Microsoft be willing to take such a hit, especially compared to the $50-$60 it receives for bundling Vista in laptops? My thoughts are that it sees XP as a stop-gap to Windows 7 Starter Edition. Much has been made of the three application limit in the entry level Windows 7 edition and Microsoft are gambling on whether the consumer will really ‘upgrade’ to more expensive versions at some point down the line. It will be interesting to see how consumers react to this app limit and the launch of Windows 7 could even see a retaliatory Linux comeback.

Windows netbook market share continues to grow

Nearly exactly a month ago, we reported how the Windows operating system dominated netbooks sold in the US. Approximately 90 percent of netbooks sold during November to January ran Windows XP and the remainder Linux. It appears that Windows extended this dominance in February, with 96 percent of netbooks running Windows during February 2009 according to the latest NPD Retail Tracking Service data. Read more

Windows 7 to herald the $200 netbook?

Microsoft is predicting that its entry-level Windows 7 operating system, the Starter Edition, will pave the way for netbooks with a price point of $200 (£140) by Christmas. Microsoft sees the price point low enough that it will all but replace current entry-level Linux-based netbooks, which it says see a “disproportionate amount of returns.” Despite this, Microsoft will still be marketing Home Premium as the default Windows 7 OS for netbooks.

Mark Croft, the Director of OEM Worldwide Marketing said: “We have a couple of the OEMs continuing down a path to be very aggressive on price. It puts the pressure on everyone. We’re anticipating opening price points to reach about $200 at least in the US market this holiday season, and another $50 maybe for Nvidia Ion machines.” Read more

Video: Windows 7 Touch gestures demonstrated

The Windows Touch Team has posted a lengthy post on the ‘Engineering Windows 7’ blog, giving a thorough overview of touch in Windows 7. It is well worth a read for those that are interested in the touch capabilities of Microsoft’s new operating system. From a netbook point of view, Windows 7 could drive a surge in netbook sales although this is likely to depend on whether the hardware is up to scratch as well as mature software. I for one cannot wait for HD multitouch-panels to appear in netbooks/net tablets, but if the software isn’t up to scratch it will be pointless.

“With Windows 7 we have enriched the Windows experience with touch, making touch a first-class way to interact with your PC alongside the mouse and keyboard. We focused on common activities and refined them thoughtfully with touch in mind. You will have the freedom of direct interaction, like being able to reach out and slowly scroll a web page then flick quickly to move through it. With new touch optimized applications from creative software developers you will be able to immerse yourself as you explore you photos, browse the globe, or go after bad guys in your favorite games.”

The team also talk about the core gestures used in Windows 7 (Tap and Double-tap, Flicks, Zoom etc.) We have included a full list & description of these after the break along with a short video demonstrating these gestures in action. Read more

Samsung wants full Win 7 on future netbooks, no Linux plans

Microsoft has openly talked about its hopes for Windows 7 running beautifully on netbooks. It does not want to make the same mistakes it has made with Vista and is keen for netbook vendors to ship with Windows 7 on launch rather than XP. Higher margins is one of the main reasons MS has actively talked about the netbooks + Win 7 combination. Windows 7 Starter (crippled) Edition will only allow three applications to run at one-time and MS are banking on being able to upsell the more premium versions to consumers. Read more

Is Microsoft really planning a Windows 7 netbook SKU?

There has been much talk from Microsoft of Windows 7 “running beautifully on netbooks”. However, what has not been made clear is whether Microsoft is planning to release a netbook-specific SKU or whether it plans to focus OEMs/ODMs to the Windows 7 Starter package and then upsell to more expensive W7 versions. However , recent comments made by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer during an analyst meeting last Tuesday indicate that it is still thinking about a specific netbook edition. Read more

MS says Windows 7 will “run beautifully on netbooks”

Following the explosive growth of netbooks last year, Microsoft is doing all it can to push Windows 7 as the netbook platform on launch. Microsoft was caught out last year when Vista turned out to be too complex to run on most netbooks and had to resort to selling the lower-margin Windows XP instead. Bill Veghte, Microsoft’s senior vice president for Windows, said that “Windows 7 will run beautifully on netbooks,” when asked the question by Computing.

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