DesktopLinux
Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  Blogs  |  Videos  |  Resource Library

Keywords: Match:
Asus low-end laptops to run Xandros
Jul. 19, 2007

In early June, Asustek Computer and Intel announced at Computex Taipei that they would soon be releasing a low-end $199 subnotebook PC, the Asus Eee PC 701. It appears to be on schedule, and when it arrives in customers' hands in late August or early September it will be running a variation of Xandros Desktop Linux.

At a fraction of the cost of most laptops, the Asus Eee PC cuts corners on features. Still, Intel and Asustek are certain that there's a growing market for low-priced subnotebooks. In an IDC analysis of the U.S. consumer PC market, Richard Shim, IDC's research manager for personal computing, said, "We believe the consumer PC market segment is in the midst of a major change that will push notebook penetration further into the mainstream market."

Intel and Asustek aren't the only companies that believe people are ready for a subnotebook that costs less than an iPhone. In addition to the Linux-powered result of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project, there is the also Linux-powered but slightly more pricey Foleo, recently released by Palm.

Like these other members of the new generation of subnotebooks, the real news with the Eee is its size. At 8.6 by 6.5 by 1.3 inches and barely 2 pounds, a user can tuck it into a backpack or purse and hardly notice that it's there.

The Eee PC 701 comes with two interfaces. The first desktop is meant for users who may have never used a computer before. As Jonney Shih, chairman and chief executive of Asustek, said at the system's introduction, the name, besides being a play on Nintendo's popular Wii game system, represented a threefold repetition of the word "easy," as in "easy to learn, easy to play, easy to work."

The other interface is KDE-based. Both Windows XP and KDE users will find it familiar-looking. Linux users will also find such familiar open-source applications as OpenOffice, Firefox and the VOIP (voice over IP) program Skype.

Of course, Eee users will have to get used to seeing the interface and their applications on a 7-inch display. This 800 by 480 pixel display won't be overly snappy either, as its GPU uses UMA (unified memory architecture). This means that the graphics borrow memory from the computer's 512MB of DDR2 (double data rate 2) -400 RAM.

While this may not sound like enough RAM to run Xandros, this Linux operating system is well-known for its ability to run with a bare minimum of RAM. In a DesktopLinux.com review in 2006, we were able to run the latest version, Xandros Desktop 4.0, on a far less powerful system: a 6-year-old Compaq Deskpro EN Desktop with a 500MHz Pentium III processor, 128MB of RAM and a 10GB hard drive.

The heart of this ultraportable notebook is a 900MHz Pentium M processor running on the Intel 910 Mobile chip set. For main storage, the Eee uses 4 to 16GB of solid state flash memory.

While even the maximum storage isn't even a quarter of Dell's Ubuntu-powered Inspiron 1420s with 80GB hard drive, it's much faster. Booting up Xandros on an Eee takes less than 15 seconds. If more storage is needed, the user can connect USB drives to any of the laptop's three USB 2.0 ports.

To talk with the outside world, the Eee includes 10/100 Ethernet, a 56K modem, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. In addition, the device has built-in stereo speakers, a microphone and a 300K-pixel video camera. A four-cell, 2s2p (two-in-series, two-in-parallel) 5200mAh battery provides a claimed 3 hours of battery life.

For Xandros, this shows that while the company is turning more of its attention to the server, with its recent acquisition of Scalix, the open-source e-mail and groupware company, and its partnership with NoMachine to bring NoMachine's thin-client server into Xandros' Linux Server 2.0, it's not turning its back on desktop Linux.


Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols



Do you have comments on this story?

Talkback here




Related Stories:


(Click here for further information)


Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.

Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.

Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.

Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.

Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.

Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.

Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.

SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.

Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.

Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.

 



Got a HOT tip?   please tell us!

ADVERTISEMENT
(Advertise here)

Resource Library

• Unix, Linux Uptime and Reliability Increase: Patch Management Woes Plague Windows Yankee Group survey finds IBM AIX Unix is highest in ...
• Scalable, Fault-Tolerant NAS for Oracle - The Next Generation For several years NAS has been evolving as a storage ...
• Managing Software Intellectual Property in an Open Source World This whitepaper draws on the experiences of the Black Duck ...
• Open Source Security Myths Dispelled Is it risky to trust mission-critical infrastructure to open source ...
• Bringing IT Operations Management to Open Source & Beyond Download this IDC analyst report to learn how open source ...


Popular recent stories:
• Linux an equal Flash player
• Linux, netbooks threaten Microsoft's fat profits
• gOS 3.0 goes gold
• Browser swallows OS
• Lenovo denies ditching Linux
• Lightweight, Linux-compatible browser evolves
• GNOME 2.24 gains "Empathy" IM
• Review: Pardus Linux
• Ubuntu to fund Linux development
• Ubuntu "Intrepid Ibex" available

All-time Classics:
• Choosing a desktop Linux distro
• Banshee -- the next best thing to Linux iTunes
• Running World of Warcraft on Ubuntu
• A simple Linux backup method
• The Best Free Desktop Linux . . . and how to make it better
• Linux-powered Asus Eee PC mini-laptop arrives
• The well-tempered Debian desktop
• Lenovo launches a netbook
• What's the best Linux for beginners?
• Getting to know Puppy Linux
• Xandros 4: The best desktop Linux for Windows users
• VirtualBox: The best virtualization program you've never heard of

Linux-Watch headlines:
• Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru
• OpenSource World announces keynote speakers
• Linux 2.6.30 gets new filesystems
• Intel to buy Wind River for $884 million
• Apple sued for squelching wiki chat
• Microsoft's TomTom patents posted for patent review
• Europe tops global open source survey
• Oracle buys Sun -- may jettison MySQL
• Sun virtualization technology adds VM exports
• Is Linux ready to go to FAT camp?


Join our Desktop Linux discussion forums:
•  Moving to Linux
•  Linux/Windows debate!
•  Linux Q&A
. . . and more
Visit the...


BREAKING NEWS

• Can FAT patch avoid Microsoft lawsuits?
• Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru
• LiveUSB version of OLPC software targets netbooks
• Virtualization software goes multi-processor
• Open source show gears up with 200 sessions
• Office suite released in netbook version
• Scalix gains mobile device synchronization
• OpenSource World announces keynote speakers
• Ubuntu added to online preview site
• Linux 2.6.30 gets new filesystems
• Fedora 11 ships with new community portal
• More Linux distros tap Moblin for netbooks
• Media playback technology targets Linux netbooks
• Virtual Linux desktops tapped by UN
• Linux on tap in netbook, nettop



Linux Netbooks


Linux smartphones!


news feed

Or, follow us on Twitter...


Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  About  |  Contact
 

Ziff Davis Enterprise Home | Contact Us | Advertise | Link to Us | Reprints | Magazine Subscriptions | Newsletters
Tech RSS Feeds | White Papers | ROI Calculators | Tech Podcasts | Tech Video | VARs | Channel News

Baseline | Careers | Channel Insider | CIO Insight | DesktopLinux | DeviceForge | DevSource | eSeminars |
eWEEK | Enterprise Network Security | LinuxDevices | Linux Watch | Microsoft Watch | Mid-market | Networking | PDF Zone |
Publish | Security IT Hub | Strategic Partner | Web Buyer's Guide | Windows for Devices

Developer Shed | Dev Shed | ASP Free | Dev Articles | Dev Hardware | SEO Chat | Tutorialized | Scripts |
Code Walkers | Web Hosters | Dev Mechanic | Dev Archives | igrep

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Except where otherwise specified, the contents of this site are copyright © 1999-2009 Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Enterprise is prohibited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.