Edible Apple

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Microsoft Corp. is taking an unusual approach with its new Windows 7 operating system: Customers buying many of the least-expensive laptops with the software are likely to be limited to running three applications at a time and miss out on other key features, or pay for an upgrade.

The strategy is one of the ways the software giant is responding to inexpensive portable computers called netbooks, a bright spot in the gloomy personal-computer business that is causing many companies to modify their business plans.

Sometimes it seems as if there’s a rogue employee working within Microsoft whose sole purpose is to come up with horrific business plans like the one mentioned above.  Limiting netbook owners to only 3 running applications at a time?  WOW is right.

On one hand, you get what you pay for, and users can’t expect a $250 netbook to come equipped with bells and whistles.  The problem is that consumers frustrated by a crippled version of Windows 7 will inevitably place the blame on Microsoft, and not their own under-informed purchasing habits.

You can check out the full text of the WSJ report over here.