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Windows 7 Starter Edition — 3 Apps Only

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the because-they-can dept.

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."

9 of 695 comments (clear)

  1. Bad user experience, piracy or Linux will win out. by peterdaly · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Artificial limitations like this seem to me to be an invitation for problems and end user frustration.

    What is an application?

    Are tool tray apps possible, or allowed?

    What about apps that launch other apps as part of their functionality?

    Would Chrome be limited to two tabs? (One for the host window, two and three for the first two tabs.)

    I would say this is an invitation for piracy, but if it really is intended for netbooks, most consumers would find it very hard to install a new OS on a computer with no cd drive. It will make users angry, although potentially limit things on machines with small amounts of RAM.

    If it's intended for developing countries, I suspect piracy (or Linux) will win out.

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  2. 3 apps is more than enough. by Razalhague · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Really, nowadays you can do practically everything with just your browser. It's the new emacs.

  3. You must mean the iPhone by tepples · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apple corporation has said it will release a version of OS X that will allow only one application to run at a time

    Apple already released such an operating system in 2007. I think it's called "iPhone OS".

    1. Re:You must mean the iPhone by Major+Blud · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm really surprised to hear this. I had an HTC Apache with Windows Mobile 6. I pretty much had to follow this daily ritual: 1) Constantly closing background apps to keep the phone from crawling to a snails' pace. 2) Rebooting the phone at least 3 times daily. 3) Having to turn-off 3G to make sure I would get more than 4 hours of battery life. 4) Turn off any form of push e-mail whatsoever. See #3. Keep in mind that this was with the regular first-party MS apps included with the OS (IE, Notepad, etc). Everyone I've talked to that has had a Windows Mobile phone has had the same experience. Either you're really lucky, or you've got some magic touch that the rest of us desperately needed.

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  4. I will just run by Icegryphon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    VMware with 3 more versions of Windows 7. AH-HA! Beat you at your own game Micro$oft!

  5. Re:Really? by Akido37 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is the most useless thing I ever heard of... It's like selling an incomplete OS...

    The point is to sell automatic upgrades to more expensive versions of Windows.

    "I'm sorry, to do that, you need Windows Ultimate Edition. Would you like to upgrade now? Yes/No"

  6. Re:Name Those 3 Apps by Nerdposeur · · Score: 5, Insightful

    User: "Aw man, I can only load three apps? Well, I guess I can use Google Docs in my browser... what else can I do online without installing anything?"

    And that's how Microsoft plans to simultaneously make people hate their operating system and also not buy their other shrink-wrapped software.

  7. Re:Will probably sell quite well by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That, in a way, makes MS's decision even stranger. If you own win32, the undisputed 800 pound gorilla of backwards compatibility, why would you do anything that makes local apps less attractive and webapps more attractive?

  8. Re:Well, that's easy... by Spatial · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Lulz!

    Get out.