One thing you'll note when you purchase a netbook is that it typically comes with Windows 7 Starter. It does what it needs to do, but it's also a very basic OS. If you've used Windows 7 on a full laptop or desktop computer, you'll notice some substantial differences between Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Starter. But are those differences big enough to warrant upgrading? The short answer for me is yes, but the real answer is a bit more complicated.
When looking at Windows 7 Starter, I tend to compare it to a basic version of Windows XP but with a slightly different user interface (different task bar, different menu options, etc., but overall, very basic). The good thing for netbook users is that this typically translates into slightly better battery life and faster processing, two things which are important when you consider that you typically want to use a netbook for it's portability. But it also comes at a cost.
- Peek - view your desktop simply by hovering your mouse over the lower right corner of the taskbar, and take a peek at open windows simply by moving your mouse over the preview of that window in the taskbar.
- Shake - in full versions of Windows 7, minimize all other windows simply by shaking the window you are currently working in. This is a great shortcut to hide other windows without clicking on each one.
Windows 7 Starter also does not offer some of the basic but very useful tools that people often use, including:
- Ability to change desktop backgrounds or themes.
- Snipping Tool - take a screenshot of something that is on your screen.
- Sticky Notes - great little feature that allows you to create a sticky note on your screen. This is perfect for jotting down to do lists, quick notes, etc.
- Multiplayer games - remember the multiplayer games from Windows XP? You can get Internet Checkers, Internet Spades and Internet Backgammon on Windows 7 Home Premium, but not on Windows 7 Starter.
- Windows Media Center - this is a great area that allows you to bring together your music, video and pictures in one location.
- Internet TV - view shows from various different providers (including Netflix) on Windows 7 Home Premium or other full Windows 7 versions, but not Windows 7 Starter.
- Remote Media Streaming - share music, videos and more from your home computer running Windows 7. This would be a great feature for netbooks when you consider that netbooks typically don't have a lot of excess hard drive space.
As can be seen, Windows 7 Starter really does miss some of the key features that makes Windows 7 as powerful as it is. I personally can no longer work without features such as Peek and Shake, especially if given that I'm constantly swapping between windows (yes, I like to multitask), and I would much rather run my own theme and use my own background image. Once you get used to them, it's really hard to give these abilities up. I've also come to start using features such as the Snipping Tool on a regular basis. Just those features alone, along with the better experience with Aero were enough to convince me to upgrade my old netbook to Windows 7 Home Premium. For others, it may be the ability to remotely stream your media from one computer to your netbook that sells you on the upgrade, thus saving valuable hard drive space for other purposes.
Yes, Windows 7 Starter works well with netbooks, but the extra features that are available with Windows 7 Home Premium can really make the upgrade worthwhile. Today's netbooks can handle the graphics required for Aero with no problems, and if you're willing to sacrifice a small amount of battery life (less than 20 minutes in my experience), it's worth it to have something that simply looks sleaker and is easier to use. Even older netbooks can typically run Windows 7 Home Premium with no problem. Peek and Shake can also really help with productivity, especially on a device with such little screen space.
The decision on whether to upgrade your netbook to Windows 7 Home Premium is ultimately up to each user, however the above points will help you see what you might be missing out on. If you only use your netbook for basic uses and are more interested in maximizing battery life and performance, then the upgrade may not be worth it for you, but if you want to gain those extra functionalities and get more out of your netbook, I'd recommend looking further into things to see if that upgrade just might be worth your while afterall. It was for me and it will be in the future!
If you are interested in upgrading, you can do so by purchasing a Windows Anytime Upgrade license from here: http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/product/id/10130906
