Microsoft hopes to make money with Windows 7 upgrades on netbooks

Microsoft will offer several versions of Windows 7 for netbooks, including the low-cost Windows 7 Starter Edition, which can only run three programs at a time. It seems Microsoft's main intention of the severely restricted Starter Edition is to push as many people as possible towards a more expensive Windows 7 version. Microsoft unveiled upgrading to a more expensive version will take just a couple of minutes, because all required software will already be installed on the netbook:

Microsoft will make it easy for consumers to quickly upgrade to more advanced versions, as all the required software will already be installed on the machine and it just takes a few minutes to switch from one version to the next, said Parri Munsell, a director at Microsoft’s Windows business.

“If you look at Starter Edition, I really don’t think Microsoft wants to sell that at all -- it’s pretty crippled,” said Michael Silver, an analyst at Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner Inc. “It’s really there just so they can say they have a really low-priced offering.”