Microsoft has recently announced a detailed list of the editions of the forthcoming Windows 7 operating system. While there is little change in the Windows 7 line-up compared with the Vista editions, many analysts looked at the low-end edition, Windows 7 Starter.

While Starter editions have been available since the release of Windows XP, Microsoft has always made these versions available only through computer manufacturers (OEMs) and only in developing markets. On the other hand, Windows 7 Starter Edition will be the first to be available everywhere, including Europe and the United States.

This way, analysts predict that the Redmond giant is trying to gain more share in the low-cost computer market and especially in the netbook niche. Still, the drawbacks that made previous Starter editions on XP and Vista fairly unpopular are still here. For instance, it is still impossible to run more than three applications at the same time, which significantly reduces productivity and affects the overall experience.

Furthermore, other features from the operating system will also be unavailable, especially in what home networking concerns. As an example, there will be no possibility to connect the computer to a LAN network, meaning that there is also no option of printer and file sharing. The operating system will also limit the screen resolution to a maximum of 1024 x 768.

However, while the lack of features of Windows 7 Starter is the same as with Vista Starter, analysts wonder whether the worldwide availability of a low-cost Windows version will convince Linux users to switch to Windows. Through all of its distributions, Linux gives users a full-featured desktop environment at no charge, so many people might want to stick with Linux, instead of spending money in order to limit their computers to handle just three apps at a time.

A Microsoft representative stated that the limitations of the Starter edition are intended particularly for computers that do not have powerful hardware. Still, netbook users who have installed the beta version of Windows 7 Ultimate reported that the OS returned good performance, at least on par with Windows XP. This way, analysts believe that a stripped down version of Windows won’t make sense for many people.

Brad Brooks, Corporate Vice-President for Windows Consumer Product Marketing, stated that the drawbacks of a Starter edition are more or less negligible for the low-cost netbook user. He pointed out that netbooks cannot be compared with more competent laptops, as they usually lack DVD drives and the keyboard is only usable for writing e-mails and short documents. In his opinion, a Starter edition reflects the idea of the netbook, which should be considered more as a travel companion, rather than a workstation.

Besides all the controversies regarding the various versions of Windows 7, the newest operating system from Microsoft promises to deliver more features than ever and be at least as quick as Windows XP.