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Are retailers hijacking Linux for their own financial gain?
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| With many retail outlets in South Africa now selling notebook and netbook
| computers with Linux pre-installed, I can’t really say that I am at all
| excited by the notion and find myself feeling very apprehensive about the way
| Linux is being introduced to the local market.
|
| My reason for feeling this way stems from the belief that most (if not all)
| people making the decision to buy these notebook or netbook computers do it
| based on the price tag, and not because the machine runs Fedora-based Linpus
| Linux. The salesperson selling this product has no comprehension of the Linux
| operating system or any of the programs available, and therefore is incapable
| of influencing the buyer to do it for any other reason.
`----
http://www.tectonic.co.za/?p=4277
Recent:
Microsoft Loses $435 Million in Netbooks
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| According to current figures from Netbookdigest.com, Microsoft has lost
| $435,000,000 over the last year in netbook sales.
|
| While Microsoft has maintained about 90% of the desktop and notebook market,
| netbooks come in at only 70%. Part of the reason is Linux, but part is
| Microsoft itself.
`----
http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/online/news/microsoft_loses_435_million_in_netbooks
The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time
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| The miserly constraints spurred her to be fiendishly resourceful. Instead of
| using a spinning hard drive she chose flash memory—the type in your USB thumb
| drive—because it draws very little juice and doesn't break when dropped. For
| software she picked Linux and other free, open source packages instead of
| paying for Microsoft's wares. She used an AMD Geode processor, which isn't
| very fast but requires less than a watt of power. And as the pièce de
| résistance, she devised an ingenious LCD panel that detects whether onscreen
| images are static (like when you're reading a document) and tells the main
| processor to shut down, saving precious electricity.
`----
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/17-03/mf_netbooks
Make your Ubuntu distro look like the Mini Mi
,----[ Quote ]
| The HP Mini MI netbook provides one of the slickest available Ubuntu GUIs.
| Hobbyists have now figured out how to install that pretty GUI on non-Mi
| platforms.
|
| [...]
|
| If you're a Ubuntu user and are considering giving the theme a spin, make
| sure to check out the entire thread. Installation and use are not as
| clear-cut as you might hope and there is a real risk involved, particularly
| for users who are not experienced with these kinds of mods. You may have to
| do a little clean-up work on Open Office and a few other packages. But as one
| poster writes, " I love this new look!" and you may too.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/02/make-your-ubuntu-distro-look-like-the-mini-mi.ars
Review: Dell Inspiron Mini 12
,----[ Quote ]
| The review model provided runs the Ubuntu distribution of Linux. This poses
| an interesting conundrum for many people because, although Linux avoids the
| extra cost of a Windows licence, it can be a daunting prospect for those who
| have never used it before.
|
| [...]
|
| Overall, the Mini 12 seems best suited to the type of worker who may move
| around a lot, but usually works in an environment that has access to power,
| for instance a sales executive who visits a lot of client sites, or a manager
| who spends a lot of time at remote or branch offices.
`----
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/hardware/2235950/review-dell-mini
Netbooks are a win for Microsoft? Think again.
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| And given that price is the most important element of the netbook market, the
| moment Microsoft feels they've solidified their market share and being
| raising prices, their share will vaporize. Linux's existence on netbooks
| will continue to create a loss for them, regardless of how much "market
| share" they have. And the best part is, as people get used to Linux on the
| netbooks, they'll eventually want it on the desktop as well. And that's
| something that Microsoft will do anything to avoid.
`----
http://www.raiden.net/?cat=2&aid=521
Microsoft Leaves the Door Wide Open for Linux on Netbooks
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| Windows 7 Starter Edition will also be made available to OEM's for
| installation on netbooks in all markets. This is presumably so that MS can
| finally end the sales of Windows XP to the netbook makers. I find it
| hilarious that Microsoft will offer such a limited, pathetic product for the
| netbook market. This will be a huge opportunity for the Linux community to
| educate the public about the plethora of free, feature complete Linux
| distributions available to run on their netbooks.
`----
http://linugadgetech.blogspot.com/2009/02/microsoft-leaves-door-wide-open-for.html
Cheap PCs Weigh on Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| But most netbooks have less processing power than their full-featured cousins
| and can’t run high-spec versions of Windows, the world’s most widely used
| operating system. Microsoft is selling netbook makers cheaper, lighter
| versions of its operating system, but some manufacturers cut it out
| altogether by using Linux, an open-source OS. About 30% of netbooks, which
| sell for as little as $300, run a version of Linux.
`----
http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/12/08/cheap-pcs-weigh-on-microsoft/
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