Windows 7 Starter Edition headed for a netbook near you

Of the many flavors of Windows 7, due out this summer, the Starter Edition has received perhaps the most flack. It’s limited to running only three applications at a time, something most computer users find absolutely ludicrous. Microsoft isn’t targeting Starter Edition for your everyday desktop PC, though: they’re targeting it at netbooks.

Think about it: what is the primary application for netbooks? You’re not likely to install Microsoft Office 2007 onto your new netbook because performance will be abysmal. You’re not likely to install iTunes onto your netbook because the limited hard drive space won’t hold your entire collection of pirated MP3s. You certainly won’t be doing much hard-core photo manipulation or video editing. You’ll be using your netbook for web browsing, and web-based services. You’ll access your GMail or Windows Live mail from your browser, maybe stream some music from last.fm, use mibbit to get your IRC fix, work on the occasional Google Document, and remove some red eye from a photo using Picnik. As more and more services move online, you can effectively use one application to access them all: your web browser.

Read more: crunchgear.com