Microsoft Not Cool With Hybrid Storage Netbooks
Microsoft isn't too keen on SSDs and HDDs living under the same roof.
Some of the first mainstream computers to incorporate SSD technology were early netbooks. The durable and speedy nature of solid-state storage made them ideal for the application.
Now a couple of new models of netbooks have learned the trick of using an SSD for your startup and OS drive to take advantage of the speed and then using a traditional HDD for the less demanding storage. It’s a set up that many of us would like to have in all our computers, not just our laptops.
Unfortunately, Microsoft isn’t so taken with the idea for netbooks and is disallowing the bundling of Windows XP with ‘hybrid’ storage netbooks, according to Bit-tech. Microsoft setting hardware limitations for netbooks allowed to pack Windows XP isn’t new.
Netbooks with Windows XP can have an SSD no larger than 16 GB or an HDD up to 160 GB. Having both at the same time, however, appears to be taboo. The only netbook affected appears to be the MSI Wind U115, which is available in various combinations of 8 GB or 16 GB for the SSD, and 120 GB or 160 GB for the HDD. Bit-tech reports that MSI must remove its Windows XP-packed hybrid netbooks by the end of this month.
Last week NEC announced its own netbook packing both a 160 GB HDD and a 16 GB SSD, which appears will now not be shipping with Windows XP.
- Fusion-io Unviels PCI-e SSD for Gamers
- Apple Says Safari 4 is World's Fastest Browser
- Best Buy to Offer Free Windows 7 Upgrades
- New MacBook Pros are Cheaper, Faster, Pro-er
- Microsoft Shows Official Windows 7 Box Art
- Pirate Party Bags Seats on European Parliament
- Intel Atom-powered Cell Phones by 2011?
- Intel's 'Larrabee' to Be "Huge"
- More Pics of SilverStone's Kickass Raven Case
- Nvidia: GPU Failures Not Affecting Our Orders
- AMD: We're Launching an Atom Killer in 2010
- Windows on 98 Percent of New Netbooks
- 12 Booth Babe Pics We Never Posted
- Nvidia CEO on x86 Project: "Haven't Found It Yet"
- Rambus Drops Some Charges Against Nvidia
- Win a $400 New Egg Gift Card or an Eee PC
- Schmidt on Bing: MSFT Does This Every Year
- DOJ Steps Up Google Antitrust Probe
This is so stupid, microsoft seem to be limiting the functionality of their own software - seems to be a bit daft to be honest...
I wonder how it would stand up in a court of law? I reckon Microsoft would have a hard time proving their case, firstly because windows xp predates 'netbooks' by a number of years and secondly because i ssuspect youd be hard-pressed to find a standard definitiion of what a netbook actually is unless you say any hardware based on an atom processor, but then you could be referred back to point one - where in the original EULA there is obviously going to be no mention of this....
What about the Lenovo s10e with its 4+80 drive?
how old is this news, i musta seen it on other websites about a week ago!
Why on earth do they care?
it prolly has to do with the way xp handles hdd and ssd differently. Poor performance would make Windows look bad. just a guess.
Poor performance would make Windows look bad.
and vista doesnt look bad? XD.. silly microsoft =(
They're trying to get rid of XP users by ensuring they can't get even close to good performance in comparison to Vista/ 7 machines. It's true though, with newer hardware, WinXP is far less efficient than 7/ Vista. Good job on Microsoft really, killing the outdated dinosaurs.