Stripped-down versions of Windows XP has been shipping out with netbooks for quite some time now. Chief executive officer of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer states that they are working on a low-end edition of Windows 7 which will be fully functional even on netbooks. Users will have the option to upgrade to a more powerful version of Windows 7, should they choose to. Ballmer has also mentioned that it still wants to team up with Yahoo! Inc. in order to compete against Google Inc. Ballmer is expecting Google to roll-out a netbook version of the Android OS to compete with Windows.

Although Microsoft has declined to give a specific release date, analysts predict that Windows 7 will be available before the year-end holiday season.

More information elsewhere:

• Microsoft Windows 7 Will Work with ‘Netbooks’ (eWeek.com)
• Microsoft Windows 7 Will Work with ‘Netbooks’ (Microsoft Software Forum Network)
• Microsoft to Squeeze Windows 7 onto Netbooks (Technologizer)