Is anyone using the starter package on their laptops? I already have Win 7 Pro on my desktop and really have no need to have the full blown operating system on my laptop.

Internet access and having the means to view movies on my laptop would suit me. Is there anything missing from the starter package that would make it not suitable?

Look here:

Windows 7 Edition comparison chart

Look here:

Windows 7 Edition comparison chart

Since I have no idea what most of those options are, I probably don't need them.

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.
  

Source

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.
  

Source

What's DVD playback? Does that mean I can't use the DVD player to watch movies?

I'm not sure how it works, but my guess is you probably won't be able to plug in an external drive. Perhaps you could use third-party software (e.g. KMPlayer or VLC) to get around this limitation. << Don't quote me on this though.

Two days ago I was working on a Samsung netbook with Windows 7 starter. Plugging in an external DVD worked just fine, I must admit I did not try to play a DVD movie as that was not what I was testing, but music cd and program cd worked fine.

I would definitely think that if you install a movie player it can play the DVD movies, anything else would be very strange.