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About LinkBacksRead more.Microsoft says Windows 7 will be good for netbooks, but leading vendors seem to have other plans.
Read more.Microsoft says Windows 7 will be good for netbooks, but leading vendors seem to have other plans.
I think I'd be tempted to by a Linux based machine on a netbook - but sticking to a Windows/Linux dual combo on my next "proper" system upgrade.
Were I buying a netbook, Starter edition would actually deter me from buying Windows on it - not for the missing bells-and-whistles of Aero/Glass, but purely for the three app limit. That said, given the drift toward half-decent (Aero-capable) graphics in newer chipsets, the removal of Aero's glossier features may prove to be an error as well, since there are 3D accelerated desktops for Linux readily available now. Look at Ion, for instance, as well covered here, or the MSI X320 and the removal of all the shiny stuff from W7 Starter begins to look spiteful and petty. Hell, there are higher end netbooks now that can cope with Aero perfectly well.
You are completely right...Originally Posted by nichomach
I'm using KDE 4.1 on OpenSuse 11.1 with an NVidia Quadro 560, it's not that much more powerful than a 9400m would be, and the minimal set of effects I turn on are already better than Vista's Aero, so if Starter Edition lacks Aero it is going to come off a very distant worst against newer Linux desktops in the looks department. The new GN40 chipset also should be able to do decent enough effects given that it's G45 based, and I would imagine that even the old 945 could look about as good as Aero.
7 "ultimate" runs very well on a lowly Acer Aspire One (aero enabled) - basic and starter are therefore a waste of time for such a device.
Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719
I've discussed this with David privately, but I feel the real differentiator in this space is in the UI. People shouldn't need to (and largely don't) care about getting a "full" desktop in a small space, they want something which lets them just surf the net, read their mail, etc - and in that context, where you're buying a "device" rather than a "PC", the OS *really* doesn't matter to people. The experience does.
In that context, the UI is king - and the frenzied development and innovation in the UI space is one thing that puts Linux-based options FAR ahead of Windows. Compare the UI on the original Eee from a few months back to current offerings like Dell Mini or HP mininote MIE. They're focused on letting you do stuff in a quick intuitive way, first and foremost.
If you want something that does surfing and checking mail, um the iPhone? One only needs a netbook if you plan to write lots tbh, then the benefits of a full size keyboard come into play.
While I have no problem using Linux on a laptop/netbook I can see the appeal which having a very fast optimised copy of Windows on one would do for that market and Microsoft. Familiarity, and the plus that almost anything will install on it as the article said, iTunes (although any sensible person would have iTunes on their main home desktop surely!), MS Office and even some games to pass the time.
If its quick at loading up from cold, and quick to run and launch basic applications (IE, Firefox, WMP whatever) then I think its a winner.
I dunno - I have a suspicion that there's a "horses for courses" aspect to this; I suspect that the usage model for one of the smaller form factor netbooks (Aspire One, Mini 9, Eee 7" or 9XX) may be different to that for larger form factors (NC10, Mini 12, Wind). People may be expecting a fuller-fat experience from the latter, especially when you factor in the improved keyboards etc. that usually accompany the larger size. This also harks back to something I keep coming back to; there's an almost religious insistence that these devices are just being used to access "the cloud", and that they don't need storage or a rich UI because of that. That's at odds with the way the hardware's developed, though - look at the 160GB disks that are commonplace, and the fact that the form-factor's got significantly bigger.
I suspect that a lot of people, while they're still buying these as second machines/companion devices are expecting significantly more out of them. To a certain extent, we have machines now that are capable of performing most of the functions of an ultralite notebook for a fraction of the traditional price for those; OK, the screen, while bigger than the 8.9" is still probably a 1024x600 panel, which is a bit anaemic, but it's serviceable. The machines have good connectivity, can output fine to external displays, happily driving projectors or monitors; you know, these are very capable machines, more so than say a Dell Latitude 400 or 410 of relatively recent vintage, and there are a lot of those still in service.
How much is an iPhone without contract, and what kind of wireless speeds can you get with a normal home network/router?
Ah, thanks for bringing up price. How much does price matter? If a netbook costs an extra £20 for Windows, that's easily 10% of the cost. Add MS Office on top, and that's an extra 50% of the cost. Don't use MS Office, and what does the extra £20 of Windows buy you? A poorly targeted UI?
Presumably vendors won't charge extra for windows, and you might as well use the free office live - pairing up a low overhead application on the netbook, and also addressing the other problem of storage by having online storage.
I really don't think that $20 will make anyone turn down Windows. I am a true supporter of Linux and there is much potential in the open source OS but unless something dramatic happens I don't see how Linux can really get a significant market share to make any difference.
The word "Gears" also leaps all-unbidden to mind, also..
They do - the XP versions of the EeePC cost more than the Linux versions.
It doesn't - familarity makes it all too appealing to the masses. That and the fact the my experience of netbook linux installs is 'it's horrible' (the eee and acer I own both used to run linux). Now there are very *good* distros out there but instead we get crippleware and I have found drivers/functionality immediate better when on Windows (either as a result of the former or just because mainstream support is better period). Netbooks looked like they'd be a way for linux to actually make some headway - right up until the point when I tried 7 the other day on my acer anyway. If MS don't stuff it up by putting duff 7 (basic or starter) on netbooks of course.. 7 works really (really) well (in beta) on netbooks - that's a problem for linux.
Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719
Ugh, that Microsoft PR piece has so much diatribe I wouldn't even know where to begin.
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