New Blog 1: Windows Netbook

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Windows Netbook

Since the rollout of the release code for Windows 8 on MSDN and Technet last week, we've been updating all our test machines with various versions of the latest Windows.It's gone on desktop PCs with multiple monitors, on various laptops, on hybrid touch and pen tablet PCs, and on a selection of slate form-factor PCs.One set of devices it's not been anywhere near is the netbooks that have been sitting around the office for the past couple of years. After all, they were at the heart of much of our Windows 7 testing, and Microsoft had done a lot of work in making it run well on low-power and small form-factor devices.So why not on a netbook?Partly the issue is one of screen size. Netbooks tend to have 1,024 x 600 screens, which aren't able to run apps built using WinRT. While there are screen-scaling hacks that can get around the restriction, it's still a less than perfect user experience.The result is that you're locked out of the future of Windows, limited to traditional desktop applications in a limited amount of screen real estate. It's not just Windows 8's new UI, desktop applications are demanding more and more screen space, and the average netbook is being left behind.