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Asus Slaps Linux In the Face

vigmeister writes "From Techgeist, 'Linux just got a major slap in the face today from Asus. One of the highlights of Linux going mainstream was the wildly popular Asus Eee PC preinstalled with a customized Linux distro geared towards web applications. While I personally never got what the big deal was, I was still happy for all the Linux people out there waiting for this day, but it looks like the cause for celebration won't be lasting much longer. Asus and Microsoft have teamed up and have made a site called 'It's Better With Windows.' The page touts how easy it is to get up and ready with Windows on an Asus Eee PC, while slyly stating that you won't have to deal with an 'unfamiliar environment' and 'major compatibility issues.' While it is silly to state such a thing since Asus built the Linux distribution specifically for the Eee PC, I give Microsoft two points for snarky comments.'"

11 of 644 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Meh by Rogerborg · · Score: 5, Informative

    And make sure you demand your Windows Tax Refund - however little you manage to claw back from them, it'll still cost Asus extra to process the refund.

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  2. Re:How much money changed hands? by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is difficult to believe that Asus did this out of love for Redmond. I wonder how much MS paid for this special treatment, or did they threaten Asus with higher prices?

    I still don't see any conclusive evidence thi was Asus' work. I think your anger should be directed at Microsoft. I can't prove it for sure but the whois of this domain itsbetterwithwindows.com reads:

    Registrant:
    Michael Sharp
    12932 SE Kent-Kangley Rd.
    Box 238
    Kent, Washington 98030
    United States

    Domain Name: ITSBETTERWITHWINDOWS.COM
    Created on: 05-Dec-08
    Expires on: 05-Dec-09
    Last Updated on: 05-Dec-08

    And so we put it in the same state as Washington. Now, I'm guessing this is a PR company and we have a perfect match of Arbirtron Ad agency listing Michael Sharp as Manager, Agency & Advertiser Services for several different regions of the US.

    Ok, from there if you google Arbitron Asus and Arbitron Microsoft you come up with two very juicy powerpoints from Microsoft on Arbitron's site.

    I would put my guess at 95% that this is a Microsoft run and funded site with little to do with Asus other than get their permission.

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  3. Re:hey Asus by nschubach · · Score: 4, Informative

    They definitely lost sales from me... and I regularly buy motherboards from them.

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  4. Also a Michael Sharp at Microsoft by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Informative

    And so we put it in the same state as Washington. Now, I'm guessing this is a PR company and we have a perfect match of Arbitron Ad agency listing Michael Sharp as Manager, Agency & Advertiser Services for several different regions of the US. Ok, from there if you google Arbitron Asus and Arbitron Microsoft you come up with two very juicy powerpoints from Microsoft on Arbitron's site.

    I just noticed those two powerpoints only come up because they're Microsoft Powerpoints so that's not a very strong link.

    But that linking is probably unnecessary considering I just found this bio on Microsoft of a Michael Sharp as Director with the Information Security Team. Yes, it's a pretty common name but I'm pretty sure this ad work reeks of Microsoft and not Asus.

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  5. Re:Mod parent up! by koiransuklaa · · Score: 4, Informative

    I can't imagine why it would be sponsored by Asus but they certainly link to it: http://www.asus.co.uk/eeepc/1008HA/features.html

  6. Re:That's a damn shame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://who.godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx?Domain=ITSBETTERWITHWINDOWS.COM

    Check out the owner's Expert-Exchange profile
    http://www.experts-exchange.com/M_1301691.html

    "I am an independant web and application developer, specializing in Content Management and Collaboration. My company, CollaborationPeople, Inc. serves clients in Seattle, Washington and the greater Puget Sound Region, although I have clients as far away as Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, CA and Portland, Or."

    Registrant:
    Michael Sharp
    12932 SE Kent-Kangley Rd.
    Box 238
    Kent, Washington 98030
    United States

    Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
    Domain Name: ITSBETTERWITHWINDOWS.COM
    Created on: 05-Dec-08
    Expires on: 05-Dec-09
    Last Updated on: 05-Dec-08

    Administrative Contact:
    Sharp, Michael rdcpro@hotmail.com
    12932 SE Kent-Kangley Rd.
    Box 238
    Kent, Washington 98030
    United States
    (877) 788-8066

    Technical Contact:
    Sharp, Michael rdcpro@hotmail.com
    12932 SE Kent-Kangley Rd.
    Box 238
    Kent, Washington 98030
    United States
    (877) 788-8066

    Domain servers in listed order:
    NS61.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
    NS62.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

    Registry Status: clientDeleteProhibited
    Registry Status: clientRenewProhibited
    Registry Status: clientTransferProhibited
    Registry Status: clientUpdateProhibited

  7. Re:hey Asus by Kylock · · Score: 5, Informative

    Although parent is modded Troll, just a quick whois reveals that the domain was registered by some guy with a hotmail address using godaddy as a registrar (and likely the host as well.. It also uses godaddy DNS. I would also question the authenticity of this website. A whois to the IP shows that it's hosted by hopone.net. Also, there is nothing on ASUS's website to indicate that they had anything to do with this.

  8. Re:hey Asus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Also, there is nothing on ASUS's website to indicate that they had anything to do with this.

    Actually, this page on asus.co.uk links to itsbetterwithwindows.com, although I can't find any such links on asus.com.
    need4mospd deserves the credit for finding that link.

  9. Re:hey Asus by learningtree · · Score: 4, Informative

    I appreciate your observations regarding the domain registration for this site, but the site is directly linked from the ASUS website .
    So there is no question of this being a fake site.

  10. Re:hey Asus by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 4, Informative

    I appreciate your observations regarding the domain registration for this site, but the site is directly linked from the ASUS website.

    So there is no question of this being a fake site.

    Except that site links to www.asus.co.uk Asus's real UK website is uk.asus.com

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  11. Re:hey Asus by Jesus_666 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yup. Scam site. It's registered to "Asustek Computer Inc" (asus.com is registered to "Asus Computer International") via a German 1&1 reseller/brand. It seems someone is trying to damage Asus' reputation.

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