Comments on: Computers With Ubuntu Linux Coming to All Major Retailers

By: carolinason

carolinason — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:46:47 +0000

Yep, ‘nettops’ aren’t desktops, that’s why they’re ‘nettops’. But I do see nettops replacing desktops. Right now they are a bit under powered to effectively do the job of a ‘desktop’.

Obviously as time goes by and quad-cores are 50 bucks and the ‘nettop’ can blue tooth into your HD TV or projector for a desktop screen and 200 GB solid state drives are common place, this tool will be replacing desktops. Of course people like us probably will be running 16 core, 10 Terabyte drives with 8 GB RAM workstations/servers. And that 12 inch nettop or mobile pc will be our satellite pc.

By: alan

alan — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:04:38 +0000

Ghost, I don’t think you understand what these nettops are all about. This isn’t the desktop computer, these aren’t here to run your photoshop or edit videos. They’re here to surf the web or get your email, or similar tasks which Linux does fine out of the box.

People are going to see these more as an appliance than as a computer. You don’t try to put XP on your cell phone because it won’t run Office, do you? You don’t try to put Vista on your Tivo, right?

I don’t think the consumer sees this as getting a “Linux computer” as much as they see it as getting a new kind of device which does Internet-only.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:58:34 +0000

Why is it taking so long. I need to get a new laptop and this would be perfect, but it is for back to school in the fall. The lack of details is going to force me to purchase a different computer, even though I know I will love the netbook. Just give us some details!

By: ghost

ghost — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:42:46 +0000

I love Linux, but until hardware manufacturers are on board and some commercial software is available for video, photo etc. most consumers will find themselves installing Winblows back on. This will lead them with a bad taste of Linux and find that their computer runs Winblows poor at added cost. Look for these machines on Ebay. I had to wipe Linux off my dual-boot machine because I was spending too much time screwing around with Linux and realizing whats the point of having it if I have to keep booting back into Winblows. I have been running different flavors for more than five years and tried all the tricks and virtual stuff but there was always some quirk that made it not practical to use.
I really do miss Linux and never felt more comfortable with an OS but at this time it’s not for me.

By: VitaLinux

VitaLinux — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:54:32 +0000

Mark Shuttleworth should make a (maybe a partnership?) hardware company to make pre-installed PCs fully customizable and with an attractive design(i.e. Apple) and make things simpler to make a new niche that will succeed without a doubt. My two cents.

By: corneliu

corneliu — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:05:14 +0000

Joe, go smoke a cigarette please.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:47:09 +0000

Mark Shuttleworth, a visionary. If only we had someone like him pushing for legalization of marijuana.

By: tracyanne

tracyanne — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:15:32 +0000

Yes Dave Mandriva Linux should run well on the EeePC, after all Mandriva have, now, quite a bit of experience with small storage/Low RAM configurations, what with the Mandriva Linux Flash edition and the Mandriva Linux based Classmate PC they sold to the Congo, and of course Mandriva Linux is an exceptionally robust distribution – I’ve been using it pretty much since 2000, and it’s just gotten better over time.

I’m currently using 2008.1, and setting up machines I upgrade from Windows with 2008.1. My partner uses 2008.0, but I will upgrade her to 2009.0 when it’s released.

I’m currently testing Mandriva Linux 2009.0 with the KDE 4 desktop. They are both in Alpha at the moment (the KDE people call it beta, but it’s really alpha), and both look like they have a lot of promise. 2009.0 is actually exceptionally stable, the only problems I’ve had seem to be related to KDE4 (4.1)

By: David

David — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:31:47 +0000

Almost available… the Gdium won’t be ready for retail until September, at the earliest.

But yes, the Gdium will be running a version of Mandriva. Until then, the full version of 2008.1 with KDE and Compiz runs wonderfully on the eeePC right from the initial install. My point being that PCs like the eeePC, with a robust OS like Mandriva, can be more than just a “secondary” PC or Internet appliance.

By: tracyanne

tracyanne — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:28:00 +0000

Computers with Mandriva Linux preinstalled are already available, http://club.mandriva.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/GDiumInfo

By: pablo

pablo — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:34:09 +0000

but can you play nexuiz?

By: David

David — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:34:55 +0000

My eeePC 701 (with Mandriva installed) is already my primary PC – has been for eight months now. I don’t see why people “in the industry” always seem to limit such devices to secondary rolls.

Devices, like the eeePC 701, are cheap, offer great performance, use less energy, and once you plug in a full sized USB keyboard, mouse and monitor, you can’t tell that it’s a netbook device. Well, other than the fact that you have a lot more space at your desk.