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149 Comments
- Sealbhach, on 03/24/2009, -7/+55Linux fan here. Buried for being stupid tech journalism at its worst.
- drunkenoaf, on 03/25/2009, -6/+37Doubtful, as most netbook manufacturers are reporting that 90% of them are sold with XP installed.
- Genecalypse, on 03/25/2009, -1/+23...developers?
- skywake, on 03/25/2009, -1/+18so there is a 10x greater saturation of Linux users on netbooks then on desktops and laptops? Hell, 10% is greater then the share Apple has on laptops! I'd say thats a pretty big victory for Linux on netbooks.
- inactive, on 03/25/2009, -0/+17Asus and Dell say that netbook return-rates are low, and that the number of Linux returns is comparable to the number of Windows XP returns. There has been only one case of significant Linux returns, with MSI, who admits that they had their own internal QA issues.
Asus CEO Jerry Shen said, "I think the return rate for the Eee PCs are low, and I believe the Linux and Windows have similar return rates"...
http://blog.laptopmag.com/asus-ceo-reveals-eee-pc- ... - Runningflame570, on 03/25/2009, -1/+17Using Linux does not mean being out of touch with reality, at least right now Linux is not winning on netbooks for some of the same reasons that Vista had a lot of problems and Windows 7 will have a lot of problems catching on: Consumer inertia, apathy, and OEM incompetence.
Vista was genuinely superior to XP when it came to security (if little else), Linux is superior in far more ways to XP for netbooks, but because of a combination of familiarity with XP, apathy towards Linux, and idiocy on the part of OEMs in selling sub-par or less than fully functional versions of Linux on netbooks it has lost ground.
That doesn't mean that Linux can't make it up and in fact, I expect a good bit of ground will be made up if OEMs advertise it better and begin to use better distros of Linux but as it stands Microsoft doesn't need to concede victory on netbooks, because for the moment it has obtained victory on them. It just hasn't become entrenched yet.
Buried. - mozert, on 03/25/2009, -1/+16??? WTF o_O
- BalancingAct, on 03/25/2009, -3/+17I'm a Linux fan and user(Gnome user) too. I agree. The article is garbage. Poor reasoning.
The average Joe and Jane are going to be sticking with Windows for a long time to come, especially if they are non-techie minded. People want to stick with what is familiar to them, irrespective of how cheap/free Linux is or how many billion viruses they get on Windows. - seltaeb4, on 03/25/2009, -2/+12Just the other day I was thinking that the shift in Microsoft's PR strategy was working, as we've seen very little of Steve Ballmer in recent weeks.
Then, I see this. And read the things he said.
This guy needs Hannibal Lecter restraints. - inactive, on 03/25/2009, -0/+10Yeah I would definitely get a Linux netbook. Stuck with Windows because I like computer games. Don't need a laptop for anything but internet and basic programs.
- inactive, on 03/24/2009, -2/+11 Linux has been here for a long time..It's interesting to watch this unfold btw.
- MacParrot, on 03/25/2009, -1/+9The guy who needs restraints is the one who wrote this article. Considering Balmer didn't mention Linux or conceding the netbook market. This is more like him filling space with words to gets eyeballs. Just throw in all the buzzwords...Apple, Microsoft, Netbooks, Linux
- Meep3D, on 03/25/2009, -0/+7"Windoes 7 home premium license they're trying to push."
Correct me if I am wrong but Windows 7 is still in beta, is it not? Since they are not selling it you can have no idea of possible pricing. Or are you just making ***** up to bash MS with now? - nlogik, on 03/25/2009, -0/+7now its about, advertisers, advertisers advertisers... supposedly
- 1x253, on 03/25/2009, -2/+9Writer & Linux user here
The person who wrote this needs to go back to school to learn how to write. It's very poorly written. - quarando, on 03/25/2009, -0/+6This is a real shame, I have noticed the same thing. Linux netbooks were selling very well last year. In the US they still have around 10% market share and in Europe it is much higher. Given these numbers it would make since for Best Buy to at least offer a linux netbook in store. It make me wonder if Microsoft had a hand in making sure Linux netbooks disappeared from major retail outlets. They have done this sort of thing in the past.
I think that the rise in Windows netbooks has less to do with consumer preference for windows over Linux and more to do with MS using it's in industry clout to marginalize any competition. - HonoredMule, on 03/25/2009, -1/+7Man, this author's taking a huge beating in the comments for being a little facetious. No, Ballmer has not /actually/ conceded victory to Linux on netbooks, but if you RTFA, you'll realize the author's not /actually/ claiming that, either.
Consider also, before you declare Linux netbooks a failure and XP a victory, how the number of Linux netbooks being sold vastly outpaces the number of any other kind of computer being sold with Linux on it. If Linux is doing so comparatively well on netbooks, does it not stand to reason that uptake will continue as support and quality of pre-installs improves? MS is aggressively retalliating by undercutting its own cost, but that can't go on forever. Eventually, OEMs will be motivated enough to give Linux a fair chance. Declaring MS victory is still VERY premature. So why pour on the hate for an author suggesting Linux still has a chance to succeed (read: gain and hold a credible market share...monopolizing is not necessary for success) in this sector? - inactive, on 03/25/2009, -2/+8...developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers?
- nlogik, on 03/25/2009, -0/+6here is a video of his reaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc - Chrysalii, on 03/25/2009, -1/+6BWAHAHAHAHA? resale on a computer.
Ok you can cell it to someone for $100 more, but you're still paying the $500+ premium on it in the first place. - drunkenoaf, on 03/25/2009, -1/+6I'm an Ubuntu and OSX user at home but...
90% Windows vs 10% Linux does not equal Ballmer conceding victory to Linux. This would be stupidity of the highest order on Ballmer's (shouty, trolling) part. - morepowerr, on 03/25/2009, -6/+11That has more to do with the hardware then the OS. In most cases the windows one will have 2x the memory and drive space of a linux netbook. And there is only $20-30. more in price.
So people get the windows one. And put on the disto they like most. - daftman, on 03/25/2009, -0/+5don't you love statistics that were pull out of someone ass? It stinks like *****.
- raydeen, on 03/25/2009, -0/+5"90% Windows vs 10% Linux does not equal Ballmer conceding victory to Linux."
No, but it should give MS pause for thought. It wasn't too many years ago that Firefox hit 10% of the browser market and IE had (roughly) %90. I'd be a little worried, and I think they are as XP got a stay of execution due to Linux initially exploding in the netbook market. - inactive, on 03/25/2009, -0/+4Microsoft has stated that the Starter Edition will only allow three programs to run at once. They hope that people will upgrade to a more expensive version of Windows 7.
http://jkontherun.com/2009/02/10/windows-7-starter ...
Linux operating systems have no restrictions on the number of programs open.
Windows 7 uses 1.24 GB of RAM, Ubuntu uses only 349 MB.
On netbooks which have less resources than laptops, this is huge difference.
http://weblog.infoworld.com/stratdev/archives/2009 ... - inactive, on 03/25/2009, -2/+6Its time for Balmer to go
- theaceoffire, on 03/25/2009, -2/+6I think that is slightly off...
The average Joe and Jane are going to be sticking with whatever comes with the laptop.
If it is Windows (As it is likely to be), then that is what they will use. If it us a Linux Distro, they will use that instead.
If something doesn't work, they will complain to a tech friend or ignore it (Like the errors when Vista first came out before the service pack, or issues where certain programs wont run). - drunkenoaf, on 03/25/2009, -0/+4In that scenario, I would too. But MS have sold another XP for cheap PCs licence.
- glitchbit, on 03/25/2009, -1/+5just because you have yet to figure out how to work a netbook into your life does not mean they are lame. Maybe it means you are lame?
In all seriousness it is nice having one computer that is completely silent, cool running and low wattage too. All in all it makes a fantastic download machine and remote server for my external drives. - jejones, on 03/25/2009, -1/+5If netbooks with Linux come configured like the ASUS Eee 900A that I bought, I can understand that. It arrived with Xandros Linux set up to use UnionFS, which ate most of the tiny 4GB SSD it had, and the automatic arrival of twelve package updates followed by an attempt to install two or three of them totally filled the SSD and rendered the system unusable.
I knew enough to read the web, grab Ubuntu Eee (now Easy Peasy) and install it, wiping Xandros and leaving me with over half a gigabyte free--enough to do simple stuff, not counting the slot I have a 4 GB SD card in.
Joe Average, OTOH, or infinitely worse, J.A.'s child or grandchild whose eyes had just lit up when he or she saw he or she was getting HIS OR HER VERY OWN COMPUTER for birthday or Christmas, would power up, watch the computer render itself unusable, and go stomping back to Best Buy (where I got it), demanding a refund and probably getting upsold to a bigger netbook or a notebook running Windows, with the salescritter's assurance that he could do some real work on it. Would he blame the idiots who set the netbook up to use UnionFS with far too small an SSD? No, he wouldn't know enough. He'd blame Linux.
If ASUS and/or Best Buy wanted to make Linux look bad, they couldn't do much better than what they did, and I have to wonder whether that wasn't their intent. - theaceoffire, on 03/25/2009, -0/+3I use my laptop for portability, so I don't even need it to be powerful... just small, durable, and cheap.
If I need gaming I have a console, if I need complicated programs I have a desktop. - Khast, on 03/25/2009, -0/+3You, sir are a ***** moron. Windows 7 Starter Edition is the OEM distribution for low end PCs, this includes netbooks. Read up on your Windows 7 versions, unless you want to keep sounding like a ***** Microsoft fanboy.
Oh, and in case you want to call me a Linux fanboy, this message was typed on a Windows PC. (Although if Ballmer keeps up his *****, I may just move over to Linux in spite...he is far more arrogant than Bill Gates EVER was.) - MacParrot, on 03/25/2009, -0/+3Except they would never be able to sit next to each other on a plane
- cannonball, on 03/26/2009, -0/+31.24 GB of RAM!?!?!?!
Why is that necessary? What benefits comes with that?
This is MS's problem; Moore's law is not something you can just depend on, especially when people are trying to conserve power nowadays.
This is why I hate "commercial" software...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth%27s_law
MS needs to start focusing more on the application of its software instead of making the same tasks we use everyday bigger and more expensive. - BalancingAct, on 03/25/2009, -2/+5"The average Joe and Jane are going to be sticking with whatever comes with the laptop."
Partly, but there are a HUGE number of people that have returned laptops that have Linux on. And the reason? Well, because it doesn't have the operating system that they are most familiar with, which is usually Windows. - raydeen, on 03/25/2009, -1/+4Linux fanboy here and I thought MS had pretty much sown up the netbook market in the last year. Usually only the flash drive models come with any form of Linux (and their a bit hard to find at this point) whereas for $20-$30 more you get a netbook with a sizable HD and Windows XP Home. Heck, the standard seems to be 120-160 GB drives in the Acer lines. That's at least twice what I have in my 2.5 year old Dell E1505. I've been wanting to get one of the brown Acer models and at least dual boot Ubuntu with XP (want brown 'cause then the netbook would match the stock Ubuntu theme. :D)
- Khast, on 03/25/2009, -3/+6well, reading the limitations that Microsoft set for the netbook version of Windows 7... I would say that Linux will win hands down. I mean, only allowing 3 programs to be running at any one given time?
Yes, I am aware of netbook limitations, but it shouldn't be enforced at the software level. - donnytomas, on 03/25/2009, -3/+6Linux posted your inane comment.
- computershack, on 03/25/2009, -3/+6"Why pay a few hundred dollars for Windows on a device that costs only a few hundred dollars and drops all the time?"
***** article. OEMs don't pay anywhere near $100, let alone a few hundred. Hell, even Amazon sells Windows for under $100. And WTF does he mean by "drops all the time"? ***** sake, it's not 2001 anymore. - Archer007, on 03/25/2009, -0/+3Buried, reported, forgotten.
- Vtorch, on 03/25/2009, -1/+4This is a dumb article. Buried for being really dumb. This idiot, Matt Asay, actually thinks that after Windows 7 comes out, that Netbooks are still going to ship Windows XP on it.
Not going to happen. - donnytomas, on 03/25/2009, -4/+7The fact that you would pay for a Borla exhaust negates any point of view you express.
- inactive, on 03/25/2009, -0/+2Netbooks may not be good for Microsoft, but they are good for manufacturers like Dell, Asus, MSI and Acer.
They are also good for free and open source operating systems.
They are great for people that don't want to carry a 7 pound laptop everywhere they go. - protogenxl, on 03/25/2009, -0/+2If they want the market they should drop the stupid oem conditions on windows xp
- bigboss65, on 03/25/2009, -2/+4http://blogs.computerworld.com/study_windows_clobb ...
This article shows that Windows hasn't stopped targeting Linux in the Netbook market. - wigren, on 03/25/2009, -0/+2@MacParrot
I actually lol'd. - theaceoffire, on 03/25/2009, -0/+2"In defense of Apple prices, new Macs may cost a little more, but they're a solid investment as they have a reliably high resale value, even in a recession(evidently), that translates to quite a bit off your next Mac purchase assuming you upgrade every two to three years."
O.o I can build several new computers every two to three years for less money than the Mac cycle.
And for the same cost, I can build a much more powerful machine than any Mac you care to choose.
Hell, you can make a damn strong machine for $500, with a fast dual core processor, 4GB of ram, good video card and the works. - meed, on 03/25/2009, -2/+4victory? Linux and windows simply are apples and oranges.
Yeah most linux distros are free and most of the software available for them are free, but are they really easier to use than their windows counter parts?
Have you looked at the netbook market? You specifically have to look for a model with Linux and not the other way around...
Linux simply still is a niche segment, until a company (dell, HP, Acer, Asus, and etc) decides to grow a pair, and creates a proprietary distro of linux like Apple did with BSD. Right now linux simply suffers from Multi-Personality syndrom, there are too many flavors of it and it confuses the hell out people who thought that the Vista versions were confusing enough. - aeling, on 03/25/2009, -0/+2you sir, are a smart man
+1 digg - Meep3D, on 03/25/2009, -1/+3If I had a penny for every time I saw someone say that Linux* was about to gain some traction, I'd have a whole lot of pennies. It never seems to though, yet nobody ever wants to discuss the reasons why not - it's always blamed entirely on MS. Yet there Linux is, unable to gain any significant footing even though it's giving itself away for *free*!
If the community wasn't so hellbent on trying to convert everyone and ranting about how fabulous it is, and how much MS suck and instead decided to look inwards with some honesty then work could be done on actually improving marketshare. Until then the Linux communitys (ironically) only purpose is the worlds largest FUD and marketing machine.
* Desktop, you pedants :) -
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