*Farter* edition, more like.

Mine's the coat with the brown stain.

Is there anything more ludicrous? Can Microsoft handle this any worse? Customising your own PC is pretty much a given, and always has been. For them to stop you from changing your own desktop smacks of straw-grasping at ways of making the next version seem like the better choice.

Desktoptards.

From finding the file for it and replacing the default file with one they want but keep the name the same? Or a registry hack that will allow it? Not to mention WTF is the reason for this?

...just desperate?

I am, in fact, almost enjoying this! LOL

Microsoft wants you to BUY the most expensive version possible you dummies!

Penguin all the way ;-D

While I don't understand what reason there is for blocking it, I do think they're making the right move in blocking the companies from doing it.

I'm fine with he standard green hills and blue skies, but I think a giant brand logo as my background would drive me insane (although I don't think I'll ever get anything running this stripped 7)

What are the numpties thinking??

They might as well call it "Ender Edition".

And this after their 'Engineering Windowws 7' blog said that they discovered that people like to customize and that they've add more features in to allow people to do just that. So now they say yes, but if you're on a netbook you're too stupid / tight / poor to have this Microsoft goodness bestowed upon you. Surely they aren't claiming that the hardware can't cope with different wallpaper?

They're so deluded and divorsed from reality it makes me wonder it they're actually MPs...

I bet Microsoft make the background image file protected with Windows File Protection and also don't include Regedit by default.

I don't understand why Microsoft do this though for a product aimed at netbooks when they have strong competition from Linux.

I believe the only reason Windows beats Linux in the netbook market is due to:

-Microsoft does nice licensing details Asus and friends to keep linux out of this market

-The Windows versions of these machines have better hardware specs at cheaper prices!

I wonder when Microsoft will learn from their mistakes but I really don't think that they do.

Mike

Reg grave stone aimed at Microsoft for a stupid knee/foot shooting incident. Now if only they could place the gun nearer their head next time!

What on earth?

I can imagine the fools sitting around a desk with their pencils tapping away and then, during an awkward silence, one of them mentions that they could block desktop changes. Then they all go Yea, yea, yea (like in parliament) just to fill the awkwardness.

Knob jockeys.

So... basically Microsoft is unable to program a good slim, no-frills OS for netbooks. So instead of brushing up their programming and make it work, they rather try to make netbooks go away?

Because that's what all Starter edition plans are sounding like.

So the desktop will be a photo of typical Windows users?

Overwrite the 'bliss.bmp' or whichever over saturated picture they set as the default. I do that for all win PCs I setup. I am soooo sick of looking at that nasty blue and green hills cack.

Why do Windows people put up with this crap anyway?

You pay for the license to use Ballmer's software and it shows.

If M$ wanted to force the issue then they should put a Ballmer family reunion pic as the lockdown background.

Surely Ubuntu is a good alternative. Android and Moblin look promising too.

"Look forward to walking your relatives through that process in the future."

I would imagine it would be easier than the current methods provided by Microsoft.

why would anyone bother with an M$ computer anyway? That's the only feature they have available that trumps Apple.

Why would anyone want to change? M$ are so good with artwork and design, look at how well their geeks knocked up a full 800x600ppi tellytubby land for XP, and had the expertise to make it 8-bit heavily compressed with no anti-aliasing and turned the colour and contrast up to 13.

This 'finding' is a joke by Microsoft - then they can suddenly change that one registry key and let folks change what they want - the feature added "due to public demand". Meanwhile it keeps Windows7 in the news.

After all, if you can't change fonts, colours, etc then they might just run foul of the visual impaired. Personally I wouldn't even countenance such as hellishly restricted kludge.

Windows 7 Starter Edition? On this basis maybe they should rename it "Windows 7 for the Clueless" (and PC World will _still_ try and sell you a copy of Norton for it!)

Still, if a netbook with Win7SE on it is cheap then it'll be a boon for all the penguin herders out there - come in Ubuntu Netbook Remix...

Their competitors could not have done a better job at getting people to choose an alternative. Just who the f&%K is running the show in that place?

Me thinks the *NIX/Apple crowd have a mole working inside the beast. Its the only logical conclusion to the clusterfuck that this release is turning into.

To all those who say "Why not just overwrite the file?" Either Lost @19:08 is correct and they are using it to cover for something else which is worse, or they could bury the graphic in a required .dll file which cannot be changed without screwing the entire system. You know, the same way they embedded bits of IE into random system files purely so it is impossible to completely remove.

They lost it some time ago.

Wipe it and install XP, or Linux ... or buy a MAC. Lots of choices

I always change my users desktop to Aqua...looks nice and they seem to appreciate it!

Oh look another knock at Microsoft and the Linux geeks are lining up to thank them for it, losers

Just browse for malware and it'll change it for you!

Linux works much better for netbooks, since all you need is Firefox, a text editor and perhaps OpenOffice and an mp3/video player.

MS are so proficient at the "aim gun at foot and pull the trigger" method of public relations, does this REALLY come as a shock to anyone? I mean seriously this isn't the first time it's happened and not the least of their gaffs in this whole situation.

I am not sure that people with a visual impairment will be particularly happy.

There is no way they can get away with that without being challenged.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility

I am therefore fairly confident that microsoft will backtrack on this idea.

To paraphrase Lao Tzu: When the leader is NOT seated in the Tao... then the whole company is not in the Tao. Given how autistic Chairman (Rockin' Mr.) Bill is, and how devious their early competative efforts were, it's no surprise to me the depth of awkwardness they design into every single product they produce. They continue to trip over themselves for a shrinking iota of market share. Bye bye M$, it's been a pain in the ass knowin' ya! I don't know Linux very well now, but the future has penguins written all over it.

I hope it's goatse