HP Unveils Small Commercial Linux Laptop

Ryan writes "HP had unveiled their version of a miniaturized laptop for school kids. The tiny device boasts speeds up to 1.6 gigahertz. They haven't yet decided on a name, but 'netbooks' is one possibility. They will be used for surfing the Internet and doing other basic tasks like word processing. The company plans to have 50 million units available in the marketplace by 2011. Optical drives have been left out to prevent kids from playing 'unauthorized games.' Weighing less than 3 pounds with a tiny 8.9 inch screen, the machines start below $500 for a Linux-based model. Prices are expected to be higher for Windows Vista models."

Comments

500 bucks?

[geekoid]

Try again.

1.6GHz?

[Lord Grey]

From TFA:

... Prices go up for Windows Vista models with faster processors.

The processors HP is using are made by Via Technologies Inc., the distant third-ranked player in the microprocessor space, and come in clock speeds up to 1.6 gigahertz. ...

I interpret that as saying that the non-Vista machines will be running a slower processor while the Vista versions get the 1.6GHz model. My son's Toshiba laptop, purchased this last Christmas, runs Vista at about that speed. It sucks. (That's a unanimous opinion among all members of our household, geeks and non-geeks alike. Even the cats hate it.)

Won't someone really think of the children for once?

Re:1.6GHz?

[Sockatume]

The reviews seem to suggest that although the 1.6GHz CPU can run Vista Business perfectly soundly, it keeps the temps high and the fan running and only gets a scant 2 hours out of the basic battery. So it probably shouldn't be on Vista.

Re:1.6GHz?

[Anonymous Coward]

My son's Toshiba laptop, purchased this last Christmas, runs Vista at about that speed. It sucks. (That's a unanimous opinion among all members of our household, geeks and non-geeks alike. Even the cats hate it.

Well they would, wouldn't they? Everybody knows cats need fast processors to run extra grammar and spelling checks. For a cat, being caught spelling something incorrectly is the height of humiliation.

Re:1.6GHz?

[dubbreak]

For a cat, being caught spelling something incorrectly is the height of humiliation.


wut dat u sez?

I can has werd chekerz?

Re:1.6GHz?

[slimjim8094]

Joke: <--------

You:
          0
         -|-
         / \

for $500 i could get...

[Spy Handler]

a core2duo laptop with a 120gb HDD and a DVD rewritable drive... not to mention a 15.6inch screen -_-

Re:for $500 i could get...

[an.echte.trilingue]

Yeah, but children have different needs. They will etch their names in the case, drop it, routinely hold it by the lid, drop it, spill stuff on it, drop it, get that cookie-saliva goo mixture from their fingers on it, etc. For a child, a tough slow box is worth more than a fragile powerful machine.

"Try Again"

[Moryath]

Optical drives have been left out to prevent kids from playing 'unauthorized games.'

Of course, being kids, they will require ~30 seconds (maybe less) to figure out a way around this. USB optical drive / keychain drive? Check. Daemon Tools and ISO image? Check. No-CD Patch of whatever game they want to run? Check. Web games, bittorrent, whatever else their little hearts might desire? Check.

I have a vision of 1,000s of kids sitting in school, on school-approved laptop, all endowed with MAME and console emulators... "and god looked down, and saw that it was good."

Heh.

Re:"Try Again"

[qbzzt]

Optical drives have been left out to prevent kids from playing 'unauthorized games.'

How about "Optical drives have been left out to drive down the cost, but some marketing weenie thought it would sound better if the press release said it was for the children"?

Engineering is about reality. Marketing is about perceptions.

writer's laptop

[Rogue Haggis Landing]

The Mini-Note was called the HP 2133 in the advanced press and has been expected for a while. I've had high hopes for it as a notebook for word processing, because the advance press has always talked about it having a 95% full keyboard (unlike the tiny Eee).

Anyway, after looking at some of the early reviews you can see that the Linux model is almost the perfect machine for a writer. It's small and under 3 pounds. It has a nearly full-size keyboard so you should be able to type for hours on it with no problems. The 1280x768 screen lets you see how things look on a full page and do some editing work (which is why something like an Alphasmart doesn't fit here). It seems likely to be fairly rugged and has a solid state drive of some sort, meaning drops won't kill your work. The performance of the poky VIA processor is almost irrelevant; all you need to be able to do is type in Open Office without noticeable lag. (Or fire up a tty session with vi or emacs if you want to totally minimize distractions.) $500 isn't as nice as $400, but it won't kill you either.

The only problem I've seen is that at least one of the reviews goes on about the heat the thing generates and the accompanying fan noise. A small quiet computer is the scribbler's holy grail. There's some hope for the HP, as the reviews have all been of the $750 model running Vista off a spinning hard drive. Maybe, hopefully, the slower processor being taxed less by a lighter OS combined with a solid state drive will make the Linux model quieter. Still, if not, we've almost got a writer's computer. And hopefully someone else will come out with a perfect one soon.

Re:No Thanks

[onkelonkel]

I thought classical mistake number one was "don't get involved in a land war in Asia"

Classical Mistake Number One?

[argent]

What happened to "Never go up against a Sicilian when Death is on the line?"