Windows 7 not to support ARM processors

Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system will not run on netbooks powered by ARM chips, Microsoft said yesterday, a blow to the British company's hopes of becoming a big player in the sector.

The news comes days after ARM said it planned to grab a foothold in the fast-growing netbook market this year, and that it was aiming for a 30 per cent share of the entire market next year.

ARM previously said netbooks using its chipsets would run on an operating system based on the open-source Linux system, which it says it prefers for its lower cost and the fact programmers can tailor it to their needs.

"For people who want a PC, albeit a different chipset, we don't think those will work very well," Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft's Corporate Vice-President for original equipment manufacturers.

"We sort of learnt in the past year that if it looks like a PC and acts like a PC, people want the features and benefits of a PC."

No one at ARM was immediately available for comment. Guggenheimer also said he did not think consumers would begin choosing Google's Android operating system over Microsoft, pointing to possible compatibility issues, its Linux core and a lack of supporting software.

His comments come a day after Acer became the first firm to announce it would sell a PC running on Android, a move that could threaten Microsoft's stranglehold on the operating system market.

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