I had issues with a Windows 7 machine having a blank screen with no icons or desktop items loaded after login onto to the system. I tried several things which none of them worked.

I deleted the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell key rebooted and the key recreated itself. The problem went away and it as not come back.

Netbooks. I was actually one of the few that did not think much about them or the success associated with them. The formula is rather simple and clever. Take a ordinary notebook, strip it down. Reduce processing power, shrink its footprint, and reduce the price tag. Current netbooks from HP, Dell or Lenovo cram performance once only reserved for full size notebooks into 2-pounds package. Cost for these netbooks today vary from 250.00 to 500.00 US. These machines aren’t designed to serve as one primary PC, but they are ideal for low cost, low mass secondary systems. Perfect for travel, on the go, or in the house.

Keyboards- Some model may cram in full size keyboards but typically netbooks are 10-20 percent smaller from a keyboard perspective.

CPU- Most common configuration I know of is a 1.3 up to 1.6ghz Intel power Atom processor. Avoid anything less than a 1.ghz.

Memory- 1gb may be standard on most models, however, personally I would avoid anything less than a 2gb in size of memory. Also, if you have Windows 7, 2gb would be the magic number you would want to stick with.

USB- Try to stick with units that have at least 3 ports, USB or mini DV, the more the better!

Screen- 8-10 inches would be your typical netbook. Anything above 12 inches would not be considered a netbook.

Wireless connectivity- Wi-Fi Bluetooth and Wireless N should at least be the minimum you would want to look for. Options may be 3g etc with monthly service associated with it.

Card Readers- SD is typically included in most units

Battery- Most units should at least have a 10-12 hour battery, don’t get any extended battery since it may make the unit heavier and bulkier.

Storage- Most units now have a 250gb storage device either a normal spinning drive or a Solid state drive (at additional cost)
Getting a bigger is an option but careful since it may make the unit run slower. A solide state drive may help but the cost different today does not justify the switch for the normal user. Especially on these low cost netbooks.

Corporate migration to Windows 7 may be less about evaluating the new Microsoft operating system and more about how to properly move off XP.
As we are doing so now, I am sure other companies IT pros will have to figure out how long it will take to get all their XP desktops to Windows 7 before XP support runs out or before application vendors quit producing XP versions of upgrades or new software, which some predict could come as early as 2012.
Windows 7 offers a host of interesting corporate features such as AppLocker, DirectAccess, Branch Cache and XP Mode, a virtualization technology that should buy time for users who migrate but must hold on to key legacy applications.
Gartner predicts that more than half of the corporate Windows user-base is skipping Vista and aiming at Windows 7.
While that means XP users won’t have to tangle with Vista in name, it doesn’t mean they will avoid the application compatibility issues that gave Vista a black eye right out of the blocks in November 2006. Windows 7 is built on the Vista code base.
If you are on XP, Windows 7 isn’t going to solve a lot of Vista’s migration problems. The few and proud corporate users however that did go to Vista will likely have an easier transition than the ones going from XP to 7.
Application compatibility issues from Vista to 7 are few and far in between, however XP to 7 will see some challenges.

Microsoft says nearly all applications that run on Vista will run on Windows 7 and early testing by users is beginning to validate that claim.
In addition, hardware upgrades made for Vista are relevant for Windows 7 rollouts.
While those rollouts won’t be painless for Vista converts, it is those on the XP side who will have to tap into their planning and organizational skills.

The predominant migration questions among those coming off XP are “when” and “how.”
Bottom line, by 2012 if you are still on XP it may turn into a complicated expensive preposition; Since you would likely need to have a custom support contract in order to gain support for XP.

• Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic will not come with AAC, H.264 or MPEG-2 support. Microsoft seems to have the intention to provide upgrades for those systems to add the support.
• 4 Gigabytes of ram are supported by all Windows 7 editions in 32-bit mode. The differences are in 64-bit mode. Home Basic and Starter support a maximum of 8 Gigabytes, Home Premium 16 Gigabytes and Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise up to 192 Gigabytes of ram.
• WindomediaPlayer Remote Media Experience (RME) is not available in Windows 7 Home Basic or Starter. However, all versions can share media over a home network.
• All Windows 7 SKUs support 20 simultaneous SMB connections. This works out to 10 users, apparently.
• Only windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise support the virtual XP Mode.