Why Microsoft will release a mini-Windows 7

Windows 7 will use the same kernel as Vista, and so will be at least as much of a resource hog. But there's a good chance that Microsoft will release slimmed-down version of Windows 7 by June, 2010.

There's nothing wrong with introducing a mainstream version of Windows 7 that needs lots of memory and processing power. Plenty of people, including me, appreciate Aero and similar features that require those kinds of resources.

But if Microsoft doesn't also release a slimmed-down version of Windows 7, it's putting itself in jeopardy. The hottest-selling laptops, after all, are ultra lightweights such as the Asus Eee PC. Two of the three top sellers on Amazon and PriceGrabber.com are Asus PCs. Vista -- and Windows 7 -- won't run on that hardware. That leaves a big opening for Linux. True, Microsoft is extending XP's life to run on them, but forcing people to run XP if they want Windows on an ultra lightweight is no way to get people to upgrade to Windows 7.

Because of that, I think you'll eventually see a slimmed-down version of Windows 7 released to run on ultra lightweights. Microsoft has said that it will allow Windows XP to be sold on ultra lightweights until June, 2010. That date is probably about six months after Windows 7 hits. My bet is that's also when you'll see a slimmed-down version of Windows 7, built specifically for ultra lightweights. Whether it will also run on other hardware isn't clear, but there's a good chance you'll see Windows 7 on an Asus Eee PC some day.