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ASUS backs down on anti-Linux pricing
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| Asus has quietly ditched its ludicrous policy of charging $50 more for the
| Linux-based Eee PC 901 than the XP one.
|
| As APC reported back in May, in most parts of the world the Linux and Windows
| XP versions of the Eee PC 900 have been selling for the same price (the Linux
| version offered 20GB of storage compared to the XP model's 12GB). In
| Australia, however, the XP 900 was launched at $599, while the Linux model
| was $649.
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http://apcmag.com/asus_backs_down_on_antilinux_eee_pc_pricing.htm
Recent:
Cheap Linux PCs Scare Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| As I sit here looking at my Zonbu(s) (a mini and the notebook), I cannot help
| but feel overwhelming dismay over all the progress made with "ready-to-go"
| Linux solutions like the Eee, Cloudbook and of course, the OLPC project. My
| concern is not in regard to the projects themselves, but it’s where Microsoft
| is trying to edge their way into something that Linux was working magic with
| first.
|
| First, we hear about XP coming to the Eee. Then as if a bad omen has come to
| pass after OLPC and Intel have their falling out, Microsoft is here to pickup
| on the down and out group in hopes of cashing in with installing Windows XP
| on the specialized notebook.
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http://www.osweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2793&Itemid=449
Asus Eee PC 901
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| Both notebooks also use the same Linux Xandros operating system and have a
| 20GB solid-state hard drive (an XP model will have 12GB storage). And while
| the Intel Atom processor that pulses away under the diminutive keyboard of
| the 901 is superior to that of the 900, you’ll be hard pressed to tell the
| difference.
|
| There was some confusion about the 900’s battery: at the time of launch, Asus
| UK believed that it would ship with a 5800mAh battery. Many arrived with a
| 4400mAh affair, which fizzled out after just two hours.
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http://stuff.tv/Review/Asus-Eee-PC-901/
Asus Eee PC 901 20G Linux Edition
,----[ Quote ]
| This is helped, of course, by the fact that the 901 continues to use NAND
| Flash for storage, 20GB in our Linux-based sample, rather than a mechanical
| drive. A lack of moving parts means less heat, more responsive performance
| and greater durability and in a machine this size these are great qualities
| to have.
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http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2008/06/14/Asus-Eee-PC-901-20G-Linux-Edition/p1
http://tinyurl.com/55bdrn
Feeling the heat at Microsoft
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| If I ask you who is Microsoft's biggest competitor now, who would it be?
|
| Ballmer: Open...Linux. I don't want to say open source. Linux, certainly have
| to go with that.
`----
http://www.news.com/Feeling-the-heat-at-Microsoft/2008-1012_3-6232458.html?tag=ne.fd.mnbc
Microsoft to limit capabilities of cheap laptops
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| Microsoft plans to offer PC makers steep discounts on Windows XP Home Edition
| to encourage them to use that OS instead of Linux on ultra low-cost PCs
| (ULPCs). To be eligible, however, the PC vendors that make ULPCs must limit
| screen sizes to 10.2 inches and hard drives to 80G bytes, and they cannot
| offer touch-screen PCs.
|
| The program is outlined in confidential documents that Microsoft sent to PC
| makers last month, and which were obtained by IDG News Service. The goal
| apparently is to limit the hardware capabilities of ULPCs so that they don't
| eat into the market for mainstream PCs running Windows Vista, something both
| Microsoft and the PC vendors would want to avoid.
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft notes that the OSes under consideration for the devices include
| Windows and Linux. Some PC makers have expressed a preference for Linux
| because it helps them keep down the cost of the devices.
|
| [...]
|
| By offering Windows XP Home Edition at bargain prices, Microsoft hopes to
| secure its place in the ULPC market and reduce the use of Linux, according to
| an official at one PC maker, who asked not to be identified because he was
| not authorized to discuss the program.
|
| "[Low-cost PC makers] have made some good inroads with open-source, and
| Microsoft wants to put a stop to it," the official said.
|
| The official did not seem opposed to the program. It should stimulate more
| competition between Windows and Linux in the ULPC market, and it could
| invigorate sales because consumers who want an easy-to-use PC are likely to
| prefer Windows, the official said.
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http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=D04AB1F8-17A4-0F78-310F5F4479DEEE86
Microsoft U-turn to stop Linux dominating ultra low cost PCs
,----[ Quote ]
| By offering Windows XP Home Edition at bargain prices, Microsoft hopes to
| secure its place in the ULPC market and reduce the use of Linux, according to
| an official at one PC maker, who asked not to be identified because he was
| not authorised to discuss the programme.
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http://www.computerworlduk.com/technology/hardware/laptops/news/index.cfm?newsid=9006
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