Windows 7 Starter Edition: opportunity for Linux on netbooks

People are excited about Windows 7. Overall, reviews of the betas are overwhelmingly positive and it looks as though (not surprisingly) Microsoft has learned from the giant mistake that was Vista. There’s just one potentially sticky wicket for Redmond: Windows 7 Starter Edition.

I bring this up because netbooks are increasingly finding their way into education and with good reason. They do almost everything that students need them to do and can be had for drastically less money than the average laptop. Their size makes them a natural choice for cramped desks and stuffed backbacks and their low cost makes them much more disposable than their 15″-ish counterparts (I know, not very green, but economically sensible when they will be suffering K-12 abuse).

So netbooks are great for us educators. Fine. We’ve established this. What Microsoft has established, however, is that, although Windows 7 will run well on netbooks (unlike Vista), most netbooks will be loaded with Windows 7 Starter Edition.