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Windows 7 Starter Edition — 3 Apps Only

CrustyFace writes "Cybernit reports that the Starter Edition version of Windows 7 will only allow the user to run 3 applications at once. Targeted at notebooks, this doesn't seem like such a bad limitation, however it is a bold move from Microsoft, and it will be interesting to see how the operating system sells."

4 of 695 comments (clear)

  1. Starter Edition could do this since XP. Old News by gcnaddict · · Score: 5, Informative

    This isn't newsworthy. Starter Edition, ever since its inception, has had a 3 app limit.

    Why are we wasting time on this again?

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  2. Original story link by InsertWittyNameHere · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=844

    Here are some selected quotes:

    "you can open as many windows as you want from a single program. So if you want to open 15 tabs in your browser, six images in your photo-editing program, and a couple of instant messenger windows, you can do it."

    "Windows Explorer windows don't count."

    "Basic Windows tools don't trigger the limit. You can run a Command Prompt window or open Task Manager"

    "Antivirus programs that run as a system service don't count."

    "In short, when I used this system as a netbook, it worked just fine. On a netbook, most of the tasks you're likely to tackle are going to take place in a browser window anyway."

    "If I tried to use this system as a conventional notebook, running multiple Microsoft Office or OpenOffice aps, playing music in iTunes or Windows Media Player, and using third-party IM programs, I would probably be incredibly frustrated with the limitations of Starter Edition."

  3. Re:What constitues an app? by mikesd81 · · Score: 5, Informative
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    That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
  4. Re:Starter Edition could do this since XP. Old New by kliu0x52 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Um, where are you getting that? TFA explicitly states that it's targeted at developing nations--places where XP Starter with the same 3-app limit have been sold for years. Microsoft never said that Starter was intended for netbooks, either--that was mostly just speculation by the media.