If even with all of the Windows 7 hype that is all over the Internet you have decided to look for alternative solutions make sure you at least take a look at Windows Embedded.  In it’s previous life it was called XP Embedded but now since XP is out of it’s official life cycle they had to change the name.

Windows Embeded is essentially a very trimmed down Windows XP but what makes it really good is that it is componentized which basically means any and all of it’s peices can be removed or added back in.  This is to allow for it to be used in devices that are space limited and running slower hardware.

Over at OS News they have been playing with Windows Embedded and found that even on an older laptop they were able to get 6.5 hours of battery life.  If the OS is tweaked enough it would be possible to get substantially more battery life if that is what you need.

It sounds to me like this would be a good candidate for a Netbook install and then compare the Windows Embedded to a Windows 7 install on the same machine.  Would Windows 7 still be the preferred OS for Netbooks?

Check It Out> OS News, Microsoft