Windows 7 Starter Edition priced at $45-55?

With Windows 7 on the horizon and the netbook market still going strong, Microsoft has its sights set on targeting even this low budget segment. It already removed the three-application limit which plagued the Starter Edition of its forthcoming operating system, after receiving a fair share of criticism, but another major factor has yet to be addressed: pricing. Unfortunately, things aren’t looking as promising on that front.

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Dang it...I want to know what the full retail versions will cost! Grrrr....

That is expensive.

I think I paid $50 for my first copy of RedHat Linux. I needed, and was entitled to support which made the purchase worth the price. I suppose to some degree, perhaps through the manufacturer the end user will get support.

But the price sounds high! I was expecting to see "emerging" prices for this. From $5 - $15 might be more in-line with what I expected.

If this were Windows Seven Home Premium - the base version for developed countries - then this would be great news. If Microsoft is going to make this the starting block for the cheapest version of Seven, I better start saving my dollars now. Yikes!

I doubt Ultimate will top $399, as far as I remember Vista never did.

So Windows 7 Starter Edition might add $20 to the cost of a netbook over one with XP? Seriously, I mean it: So? And that's IF you choose a netbook with 7SE over one with XP, getting a nearly infinite list of additional features, functions and future-proofing in return? So?

Is $55 (the stated high estimate) really too much to pay for an OS?

If netbooks with XP or "free" OS's sell better than 7SE netbooks, the pricing question is moot anyway (and would pressure MS to revisit their pricing structure).

Then there's that "what's a netbook, really, and just how many people REALLY want one considering the limitations of the format" question ...