Monday, June 29th 2009
Microsoft Windows 7 to Ship on USB Flash Drives ?
We've learned that Microsoft might be considering the opportunity to distribute Windows 7 on USB flash drives to ease netbook owners when installing operating systems. Although nothing is confirmed yet, this approach makes distribution of Microsoft software products a lot more convenient, bravo Microsoft for the idea. These drives will be used primary for netbooks and computers without any optical drives installed.
Unfortunately, the use of USB flash drives for this tight segment is just one of the many choices Microsoft is thinking over. Currently the company sells a downloadable version of Windows, so the same might apply to Windows 7, also users might download the content to an external hard drive and then hook it up to their netbook or a notebook for installation, instead of buying the more expensive USB flash drive with the licensed software. Read more at CNET.
Source:
CNET News
Unfortunately, the use of USB flash drives for this tight segment is just one of the many choices Microsoft is thinking over. Currently the company sells a downloadable version of Windows, so the same might apply to Windows 7, also users might download the content to an external hard drive and then hook it up to their netbook or a notebook for installation, instead of buying the more expensive USB flash drive with the licensed software. Read more at CNET.
30 Comments on Microsoft Windows 7 to Ship on USB Flash Drives ?
Come-on guys. It is GREAT to see MS finally innovate software distribution methods. I would much prefer games to be sold like this too, and not this horrible STEAM account rubbish. MS could even *build in* a serial number to avoid all this online activation rubbish.
NEXT UP, I want MS to distribute windows on a flash chip that is PERMANENTLY INSTALLED in a socket in the mainboard. A la 1980's computers. OS and Programs on ROM. Great. Bug fixes? Security updates? Oh wait. Perhaps not such a good idea. LOL
I would love to have it on a USB flash drive instead of DVD. I love fiddling with DVD's as much as I love homework. It takes ages to spin, it's slow to read, slow to write... It's obsolete technology, IMO. I haven't used mine in about two years... Never actually opened the tray, lol.
I used to resort to it when reinstalling the OS, but I got a main drive backup now, so I don't even use it for that anymore. It just gathers dust.
Plus, I'm sure buying like 200 million flash drives for distribution is bound to get Microsoft some serious discounts. They'd prolly be paying like 5 bucks for a 4 GB drive.
There are tools out there that can help you boot almost anything from flash drives these days. My bios can boot from them, so I'd be crazy to touch the DVD's :) I'm not saying ignore DVD distribution altogether, but it would be nice to see distributors focus primarily on this much more convenient method instead.
And like I said, buy a couple of hundred millions of those flash drives and you might be in for a healthy discount :)
You could even make it socket to an internal header on the mainboard for an "internal" install.
What MS is doing is a smart choice. I reckon ROM Flash storage will be much cheaper than rewritable flash storage and if they push the market in this direction then it is good.
I say screw ODDs and just go solid state, just like HDDs with HDDs and SSDs, but not so much for HDDs and SSDs where there is a clear advantage of HDDs. It would be more econonomical (physically) if a computer didnt require something like an ODD anymore and just something like USB, or a replacement for it for physical data input.
Mandriva has been doing this for awhile now, Microsoft didn't invent this.
i can only imagine what it would be like off a fast flash drive, and not my sucky slow one.
Theyd be crazy to not distribute these as read only, imagine your only installation media you have to install your OS corrupts because its a writable file system :nutkick: