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Netbooks: Microsoft shooting itself in the foot with Windows 7?

Microsoft has decided that netbooks - smaller notebooks designed for cheap web access - cannot have more than a gigabyte of RAM. This (reports one expert analyst) could "kill the Windows 7 netbook market." That could be excellent news for Linux! - but also for non-Intel cpu makers such as Qualcomm.

The analysis, by an anonymous contributor to Netbook Knowhow, reveals a consensus by Intel and Microsoft that they won't poison their own notebook/laptop/tablet markets by producing competitive netbooks. The screen, for example, will be 10.2 inches diagonal.

But the killer, it seems, is the memory restriction; no Windows 7 netbook will have more than a gigabyte of RAM. The report says: 

At the moment, netbook vendors are able to build units with up to 12.1-inch widescreen LCD panels and still qualify for Microsoft’s discount licensing for its Windows XP Home Edition SP3 operating system. Other requirements are no more than 1GB of memory supplied and no more than 160GB of hard drive space.

 That works fine with XP Home; it is quite happy with half that amount of memory (as long as you don't run Word!) but with Windows 7, it might be an issue:

Given that Microsoft is already saying that 1GB is the minimum level required to run Windows 7, if you believe the company’s recently released Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor beta software, the chances of any computer running Windows 7 well with just 1GB of memory, let alone a low-powered netbook, are not good. Although there are claims Microsoft has improved the memory management of Windows 7, it was clear that Windows Vista required a decent 2GB of memory to run well.

And, as the writer points out:

Given Microsoft’s recent history with its operating systems and memory requirements, it is likely that any computer with only 1GB of memory will not see full performance the rest of the system hardware is capable of.

The bottom line is that Wintel netbooks - unless Microsoft and Intel see sense - will be hobbled at the start of the race-track.

Intel can still win by providing its more powerful chips to Linux-based netbook makers. Qualcomm can win by selling ARM-based high performance pocket computers. Microsoft has a choice: ignore netbooks, or change its strategy.

But to do that, would involve making its OEM licence terms rational. Redmond has shown no sort of appetite for anything of the sort.