This goes against the prevailing wisdom here, but Linux is not necessarily the best OS for netbooks.
The newest netbooks have about as much CPU power and memory as a notebook computer made 3 years ago. That's enough to run windows XP and older Microsoft applications such as office 2003.
And, Windows has the overwhelming advantage it always did : it has an enormous existing software library that still dwarfs that of Linux. An operating system is an enormously powerful natural monopoly. It's time to admit that the only way Linux or MacOS could ever pull ahead and have the diversity of software Windows has is if Microsoft royally screws up over a period of years. Windows ME didn't even scratch Microsoft's monopoly, because everyone kept using Win98, and it appears that Vista is the same way.
Finally, I've heard many complain that the netbook manufacturers don't properly choose a good Linux distro and configure it with all the software a user is likely to ever need. If the manufacturers did that, pre-installing open office and VLC media player and firefox and the rest, and tuned the distro behind the scenes to run blazing fast on a flash disk, then Linux might have stayed a viable option.
I would assume Microsoft has also adapated to this market : they must be offering a substantial discount on the software license for a netbook. Wouldn't surprise me if they were selling "XP for netbook use" for $20 a license. It could very well be that it is cheaper to pay Microsoft than it is to pay the technical support costs for Linux.
The MS license that accompanies Dell Mini 9s is $50 (the linux Mini 9 is $50 cheaper). I started with Windows and ended up with Ubuntu Linux.
I disagree with the idea that Windows XP may be more suitable for a netbook than Linux. Try installing XP, setting up your hardware, load a few applications, and then load office. It will take a fair amount of your day. Then do the same with Ubuntu (a common choice for netbooks). I spent an hour and everything worked: hibernate, wireless, compiz for fancy window effects, and even printing to a wireless printer. If you haven't tried Linux in a while, then you should revisit soon. You will find installation, maintenance, security, and usability are all better than XP.
A sale does not constitute usage. I bought mine with XP and later tried Ubuntu from a live CD using an external drive. My system ran faster and better on Ubuntu. So I installed it and I have not missed Windows on my netbook. Something tells me MS still counts me as an installed base.
Some points to note as a Mini owner and occasional contributor at www.mydellmini.com:
1)Minis are capped with a 16gb solid-state drive if you choose WindowsXP; you can get up to a 64gb drive if you choose Linux
2)Many geeks are buying bare naked Minis with 512mb memory and 4gb drives for $250, and then equipping them with aftermarket runcore 64gb drives and 2gb of memory (another $200 for upgrades). To get the price low, they buy the Linux system and then load Windows or OSX (I know, kinda sick but they are talking about it on mydellmini.com)
Bottom line: I think these numbers are skewed by geeks and bargain hunters.
Another loser company with no viable products that wants to sue their way to fortune. Perhaps Psion could seek advice from Daryl McBride.... oops, looks like they may have already.
I'm typing this on my new, shiny, NETBOOK and it isn't labeled Psion. Thanks to the efforts of lame companies like this; netbook prices from actual netbook manufacturers will be higher so they can pay the attorney fees to defend themselves from stoopid lawsuits. Thanks, Psion. Makes me all anxious to buy from you. Oh wait, nevermind, you don't actually make a netbook.
My mother-in-law always tries to press the F2 key after turning on her computer because it says to... What it really says is "Press F2 to run setup". When she is fast enough and gets into the system setup menu; she calls me and says her computer is broke (again).
Problem solved when I upgraded her PC. I set the new mainboard to not display bootup messages and show a full screen splash image.
My brother-in-law threatened to break her finger if she touched F2 again; that also helped but I don't have the heart for that approach.
She has had XP for 5 years and it works great. Compatibility is more important to her than being leet and running linux; we use Ad-Aware, AVG, Thunderbird, and Firefox. I ensure she has the proper browser plugins and disable auto-update on the third party software so nothing changes when I am not there (I do let Windows and AVG get updates).
Wow, you are one h*ll of a Monday morning quarterback. I guess driving a car to and from work makes me qualified to race in the Daytona 500. You think *playing* paintball in the woods is somehow similar to what the people at VT experienced? I imagine there is a huge difference in what they experienced and what you think you would have done to make it all end up differently. Get a clue, it is real easy to think up good answers when you are sitting on your a** writing a hollywood script, but I bet it looked a lot different to those people as they watched their friends die.
*quote* I use Firefox, because I like it and it follows standards. So I create a web page with some nice CSS, and it looks perfect. Then, I look at it in IE, and it's not that it just doesn't look as good, it's broken. Internet Explorer has it's own way of handling margins, padding, horizontal rules, etc. They also assign default values to things that shouldn't have them. It's really irritating. Often, the differences cause things to break and render horribly. Then I have to get creative and hack the CSS so that IE doesn't shit a brick when it renders the page. The worst part is that the only reason I can see for them to not follow standards is because they "want to be different". */quote*
They can write standards compliant software, they are not stupid, and they do this on purpose. Look at it from other perspectives. First, the corporate developer: "We must make our site operate with as many computers and browsers as possible". So the site ends up with non-standard coding so it works well with IE6 and WindowsXP. Second, the non-technical end-user: "Gee, this site looks great and works well in IE, but the menu is flaky and the layout is whacked in Firefox. IE6 is a better program, I'll stick with it!" Microsoft wins another customer with their superior software, the end-user has no idea why Firefox didn't work well, and he has no intention of trying it again (and forget about that Linux stuff his nerdy brother has been raving about)
This whole saga has been the final straw for me. I have kept a working install of Linux or BSD for several years, but always needed Windows for something. No more. I have rebuilt my system and shifted to Linux for all home computing. I have always wanted to switch, but never got around to solving each of the minor speed bumps that came along. It was just easier to boot Windows and do what I needed to do. When I wanted to play, I would boot Linux and tinker away. No more. I am completely switched and have remained Windows free for a month. Learning to use Linux and the accompanying applications takes time, not because it is hard, because it is different.
Thank you, Microsoft. You have scared me with the latest blatant attempt to derail open source by dividing the community. The increased presence of DRM in Windows gives me chills, I don't think I can control my own data when you keep the keys to my computer. I don't call Chevrolet for permission to drive to work, I'll be damned if I need your permission to access my own data. Here is the summary, you are fired! Don't worry about pirate protection, trust me, I won't bother. I think I can find the energy (and community support) to solve my remaining migration issues.
What if we drafted a standard disclaimer that states something to the effect "I retain all intellectual property rights to this document and am submitting this document only to satisfy a requirement by my educational institution." ?
If everyone that has to use Turnitin (I do) inserted an identical statement like this at the end of each paper, would it screw up their analysis system? If all papers are marked as potentially containing plagiarized content, what value is the service?
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This goes against the prevailing wisdom here, but Linux is not necessarily the best OS for netbooks.
The newest netbooks have about as much CPU power and memory as a notebook computer made 3 years ago. That's enough to run windows XP and older Microsoft applications such as office 2003.
And, Windows has the overwhelming advantage it always did : it has an enormous existing software library that still dwarfs that of Linux. An operating system is an enormously powerful natural monopoly. It's time to admit that the only way Linux or MacOS could ever pull ahead and have the diversity of software Windows has is if Microsoft royally screws up over a period of years. Windows ME didn't even scratch Microsoft's monopoly, because everyone kept using Win98, and it appears that Vista is the same way.
Finally, I've heard many complain that the netbook manufacturers don't properly choose a good Linux distro and configure it with all the software a user is likely to ever need. If the manufacturers did that, pre-installing open office and VLC media player and firefox and the rest, and tuned the distro behind the scenes to run blazing fast on a flash disk, then Linux might have stayed a viable option.
I would assume Microsoft has also adapated to this market : they must be offering a substantial discount on the software license for a netbook. Wouldn't surprise me if they were selling "XP for netbook use" for $20 a license. It could very well be that it is cheaper to pay Microsoft than it is to pay the technical support costs for Linux.
The MS license that accompanies Dell Mini 9s is $50 (the linux Mini 9 is $50 cheaper). I started with Windows and ended up with Ubuntu Linux. I disagree with the idea that Windows XP may be more suitable for a netbook than Linux. Try installing XP, setting up your hardware, load a few applications, and then load office. It will take a fair amount of your day. Then do the same with Ubuntu (a common choice for netbooks). I spent an hour and everything worked: hibernate, wireless, compiz for fancy window effects, and even printing to a wireless printer. If you haven't tried Linux in a while, then you should revisit soon. You will find installation, maintenance, security, and usability are all better than XP.
A sale does not constitute usage. I bought mine with XP and later tried Ubuntu from a live CD using an external drive. My system ran faster and better on Ubuntu. So I installed it and I have not missed Windows on my netbook. Something tells me MS still counts me as an installed base.
Some points to note as a Mini owner and occasional contributor at www.mydellmini.com: 1)Minis are capped with a 16gb solid-state drive if you choose WindowsXP; you can get up to a 64gb drive if you choose Linux 2)Many geeks are buying bare naked Minis with 512mb memory and 4gb drives for $250, and then equipping them with aftermarket runcore 64gb drives and 2gb of memory (another $200 for upgrades). To get the price low, they buy the Linux system and then load Windows or OSX (I know, kinda sick but they are talking about it on mydellmini.com) Bottom line: I think these numbers are skewed by geeks and bargain hunters.
Another loser company with no viable products that wants to sue their way to fortune. Perhaps Psion could seek advice from Daryl McBride.... oops, looks like they may have already. I'm typing this on my new, shiny, NETBOOK and it isn't labeled Psion. Thanks to the efforts of lame companies like this; netbook prices from actual netbook manufacturers will be higher so they can pay the attorney fees to defend themselves from stoopid lawsuits. Thanks, Psion. Makes me all anxious to buy from you. Oh wait, nevermind, you don't actually make a netbook.
My mother-in-law always tries to press the F2 key after turning on her computer because it says to... What it really says is "Press F2 to run setup". When she is fast enough and gets into the system setup menu; she calls me and says her computer is broke (again). Problem solved when I upgraded her PC. I set the new mainboard to not display bootup messages and show a full screen splash image. My brother-in-law threatened to break her finger if she touched F2 again; that also helped but I don't have the heart for that approach. She has had XP for 5 years and it works great. Compatibility is more important to her than being leet and running linux; we use Ad-Aware, AVG, Thunderbird, and Firefox. I ensure she has the proper browser plugins and disable auto-update on the third party software so nothing changes when I am not there (I do let Windows and AVG get updates).
Wow, you are one h*ll of a Monday morning quarterback. I guess driving a car to and from work makes me qualified to race in the Daytona 500. You think *playing* paintball in the woods is somehow similar to what the people at VT experienced? I imagine there is a huge difference in what they experienced and what you think you would have done to make it all end up differently. Get a clue, it is real easy to think up good answers when you are sitting on your a** writing a hollywood script, but I bet it looked a lot different to those people as they watched their friends die.
but them Apples don't even use 8.3 file names...
*quote*
I use Firefox, because I like it and it follows standards. So I create a web page with some nice CSS, and it looks perfect. Then, I look at it in IE, and it's not that it just doesn't look as good, it's broken. Internet Explorer has it's own way of handling margins, padding, horizontal rules, etc. They also assign default values to things that shouldn't have them. It's really irritating. Often, the differences cause things to break and render horribly. Then I have to get creative and hack the CSS so that IE doesn't shit a brick when it renders the page. The worst part is that the only reason I can see for them to not follow standards is because they "want to be different".
*/quote*
They can write standards compliant software, they are not stupid, and they do this on purpose. Look at it from other perspectives. First, the corporate developer: "We must make our site operate with as many computers and browsers as possible". So the site ends up with non-standard coding so it works well with IE6 and WindowsXP. Second, the non-technical end-user: "Gee, this site looks great and works well in IE, but the menu is flaky and the layout is whacked in Firefox. IE6 is a better program, I'll stick with it!" Microsoft wins another customer with their superior software, the end-user has no idea why Firefox didn't work well, and he has no intention of trying it again (and forget about that Linux stuff his nerdy brother has been raving about)
"The study would have been more meaningful if it hadn't conflated spam blocking with ad blocking."
Then why post this here?
This whole saga has been the final straw for me. I have kept a working install of Linux or BSD for several years, but always needed Windows for something. No more. I have rebuilt my system and shifted to Linux for all home computing. I have always wanted to switch, but never got around to solving each of the minor speed bumps that came along. It was just easier to boot Windows and do what I needed to do. When I wanted to play, I would boot Linux and tinker away. No more. I am completely switched and have remained Windows free for a month. Learning to use Linux and the accompanying applications takes time, not because it is hard, because it is different.
Thank you, Microsoft. You have scared me with the latest blatant attempt to derail open source by dividing the community. The increased presence of DRM in Windows gives me chills, I don't think I can control my own data when you keep the keys to my computer. I don't call Chevrolet for permission to drive to work, I'll be damned if I need your permission to access my own data. Here is the summary, you are fired! Don't worry about pirate protection, trust me, I won't bother. I think I can find the energy (and community support) to solve my remaining migration issues.
What if we drafted a standard disclaimer that states something to the effect "I retain all intellectual property rights to this document and am submitting this document only to satisfy a requirement by my educational institution." ?
If everyone that has to use Turnitin (I do) inserted an identical statement like this at the end of each paper, would it screw up their analysis system? If all papers are marked as potentially containing plagiarized content, what value is the service?
To Wii or not to Wii... that is the question