A new rumor has sprung up that suggests Microsoft is looking at a third alternative for sending out copies of Windows 7: USB drives. There are currently two known ways to move to Windows 7 without buying a new computer: via retail or via download. The third solution would make it easy for users with netbooks without DVD drives, most of which are running Windows XP (as opposed to Vista), to upgrade to Windows 7. Of course, installation from USB is much faster than from DVD, so such an option could end up being adopted by a larger demographic. USB drives are still more expensive than DVDs to mass manufacture, however, so we doubt Microsoft would be happy with that.

CNET quotes an undisclosed source in its speculative report: "Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 on a thumb drive to allow netbook owners to more easily upgrade their machines." Microsoft confirmed in February that all editions of Windows 7 would run on netbooks but never disclosed how those who already own the low-end computers could get the operating system on their system. The currently only known solution, downloading a copy and putting the installation on a USB drive, isn't a process many netbook users would be happy to do. If the USB drive option is skipped, most will likely have a friend or a tech support guy get the job done for them.

On another note, could this rumor somehow be related to StartKey, a Microsoft technology that was supposed to allow users to store entire Windows profiles and all their data on portable flash drives? We criticized it in March 2008 but Microsoft has yet to acknowledge it, assuming it hasn't already been scrapped.

We asked a Microsoft spokesperson about the possibility of Windows 7 on flash drives. "I can't confirm the rumor—we don't have any information to share about this," the spokesperson told Ars.