Windows 7: Thumb Drive Edition?

Jun 26 2009, 11:56am CDT | by Robert Evans

I can say from experience that Windows 7 is a fantastic netbook OS. Since its very first demonstrations Win 7 has been shown running on netbooks. And yet, actually loading Windows 7 onto a netbook is a highly inconvenient task. Netbooks have no CD or DVD drives (disks are so last century) so in order to load Windows 7 you have to either get an external drive, or use your desktop to load the files onto a flash drive and get them over to your netbook.

It's not an agonizing process by any means, but it is a lot more of a pain in the butt than just slipping a CD into the drive. That, however, could change very soon. Cnet just reported that Microsoft is considering selling Windows 7 loaded onto thumb drives. The final decision hasn't been made, but I can't imagine Microsoft not doing this. Netbooks are a huge and growing market, and a thumb drive pre-loaded with Windows 7 would sell like hotcakes.

There are other options of course. Microsoft could just sell a direct downloadable version of Windows 7. Cnet also notes that they could offer an update service through Best Buy's Geek Squad. I happen to think that would be the worst way Microsoft could deal with this. Some of us want to be able to reformat ourselves, without having to take our machines in to Best Buy.

where to buy

Buy from Amazon

What Others Say about This

Successful retention strategies at Sullivan University.

Join this webseminar for an inside look at the latest best practices and technology for keeping students on the path to success. University Business is the most widely received, most regularly read publication for higher education leaders at two- and fou ...
Full article at: University Business More like this 1 hour ago

Is your school a Model of Efficiency?

University Business is the most widely received, most regularly read publication for higher education leaders at two- and four-year colleges and universities nationwide. UB provides cutting-edge coverage of higher education technology, news, finance, pol ...
Full article at: University Business More like this 1 hour ago

Does your department measure up?

Don't miss ...

Technology News

Solar Powered Clothing: The Future of Mobile Charging...

Robert Evans
The excitement about new smartphones, tablets and anything mobile drive Robert to unearth the latest rumors and developments in this fast moving space. He adopted 4G as soon as it become available and knows where the mobile market is going.
Robert can be contacted directly at robert@i4u.com.