As was reported here on Neowin, there was speculation that Microsoft were planning to remove the application limit on Windows 7 Starter Edition.
According to The Windows Blog, Microsoft have confirmed that the "3 applications at a time" limit that hobbled earlier versions of the Starter Edition has been removed for Windows 7. Now the only effective limit on the number of programs you can run concurrently is set by the amount of your memory.
Windows 7 Starter Edition will have other limits, however, in order to differentiate it from other versions of the OS.
"Windows 7 Starter does not include:
* Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the "Windows Basic" or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.
* Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.
* The ability to switch between users without having to log off.
* Multi-monitor support.
* DVD playback.
* Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.
* Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer.
* Domain support for business customers.
* XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7."
These limits are, for the most part, not technical ones, but rather they are designed to encourage people to upgrade their netbooks to other versions of Windows 7, which, according to The Windows Blog, are all optimised to work on any hardware--from netbooks up to powerful gaming systems.