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Out and about with the Acer Aspire One and Ubuntu 9.04

,----[ Quote ]
| One of the funny things about the AA1 (and probably most netbooks right now) 
| is how often when I am using it out and about at someplace like Starbucks or 
| Taco Bell that people stop and ask me questions about it.  
| 
|     * How well does it work?
|     * Which one do you have?
|     * Did you look at any others?
|     * Are you glad you got it?
|     * Was it worth the price
|     * How well does Linux work on it?
|     * Can you really use Linux to replace Windows?
`----

http://on-being-open.blogspot.com/2009/05/out-and-about-with-acer-aspire-one-and.html


Recent:

Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 hands-on

,----[ Quote ]
| Sure, Ubuntu haters won't go near it, but everyone else with a netbook needs
| to give UNR a try because we think you won't be disappointed.
`----

http://www.tuxradar.com/content/ubuntu-netbook-remix-904-hands


Netbook market? What netbook market?

,----[ Quote ]
| Today's 'default' netbook, from a name-brand vendor, delivers quasi-desktop
| functionality, costs as much as that vendor's (now non-existent) lower-cost
| notebooks/laptops, ie in the US$500 range, and we have the tier-1 name brand
| vendors perpetually pushing the price further uphill, introducing pointless
| feature-creep to justify this price-hike.
|
| [...]
|
| So, how does Linux lose in this market? In short, it doesn't - the 'netbook
| market' has instead morphed into something else: it's become the 'smaller
| form-factor notebook' market. And in this market, Microsoft has traditionally
| held a 95% slice (in the OEM, non-Apple realm).
|
| Therefore, what we have here is not so much a case of Linux losing ground in
| the netbook market, but of Microsoft and OEM hardware partners reshaping the
| market into "the same ol', same ol'". It has become a market where Microsoft
| has substantial monopoly market advantages, dating back to 1981, and where it
| has honed substantial, oft-times illegal anti-competitive market capture
| machinery.
|
| And yet, even in this market, now reshaped to favour Microsoft's monopoly
| machinery, Linux still snared 24% of 'netbook' shipments.
`----

http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10012665o-2000630136b,00.htm


8 Features of Ubuntu Remix for Netbooks

,----[ Quote ]
| If you own a netbook and want to run Linux based distro Ubuntu in it,
| Canonical has offered a great version for this. Here are some of the features
| that you would like to know before you go for it...
`----

http://www.2indya.com/2009/04/23/8-features-of-ubuntu-remix-for-netbooks/


Ballmer: GNU/Linux Will Win on Netbooks

,----[ Quote ]
| I think this is a very frank analysis of the problem for Microsoft: after
| all, who's going to pay extra money just to get the Windows logo on a
| netbook, when they can get the same features for less with free software...?
`----

http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2009/03/ballmer-gnulinux-will-win-on-netbooks.html


Netbooks Open Linux Window at BETT

,----[ Quote ]
| On the same stand a large screen showed off the design appeal of the latest
| Ubuntu. This includes multiple windows rotating or rescaling. As this is
| better understood some Netbook users may return to Linux. Asustek Chairman
| Jonney Shih has predicted that about 60 percent of Eee PCs to be shipped in
| 2009 will have Windows XP.
`----

http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?menu=A11100&no=384681&rel_no=1&back_url=


math: Windows 7 + netbook = failure - GNU/Linux as remaining winner!

,----[ Quote ]
| Windows XP is basically gone, so an OEM license is worth 20 USD for a
| manufacturer, no problem at all. Windows 7 for Netbooks is the same as all
| other Windows 7 variants - no lean, light, vlighted, 7lited or whatever. Just
| a Starter version like in Windows Vista which gives you the "power" to run
| maximum 3 applications at the same time. Where again is the advantage? Oh
| yes, now Windows 7 Starter crippled edition costs a bit more than 20 USD for
| OEM, I would say around 99 USD after discounts, tax not included or did you
| think MS stops earning money?
`----

http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10012288o-2000637757b,00.htm


Otellini: Windows 7 Upgrade for Netbooks Will Be Tough'

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has a challenge: Sell a Windows upgrade as a way to save money.
|
| The company's fourth quarter Windows revenue declined 8 percent, as PC buyers
| opted for lower-priced netbooks that run either Windows XP or Linux, rather
| than the higher-priced Windows Vista operating system, which does not run on
| netbook hardware.
`----

http://www.pcworld.com/article/160967/windows7_netbooks.html?tk=rss_news


Reports: Microsoft Cripples Windows 7 Starter Edition in Hopes of Netbook
Upgrades

,----[ Quote ]
| With Windows 7 Microsoft is releasing cheap versions of its OS for netbooks,
| but faces the challenge of getting customers to buy pricier versions
`----

http://www.dailytech.com/Reports+Microsoft+Cripples+Windows+7+Starter+Edition+in+Hopes+of+Netbook+Upgrades/article14532.htm


Microsoft’s Windows 7 May Not Cure Netbook Headache

,----[ Quote ]
| This time, as Microsoft readies Windows 7, the company is planning a basic
| version, as well as more expensive editions that are also targeted at
| netbooks. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said last week that he will make sure
| consumers can “trade up.”
|
| ‘Pessimistic’
|
| Many netbook buyers won’t go for it, because they want the cheapest option
| possible, said John DiFucci, the JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst who asked the
| question that prompted Ballmer’s comment. That means investors shouldn’t
| expect Microsoft to make much more money on netbook software, the New
| York-based analyst said in a note to clients. Microsoft hasn’t released
| specific prices for the different versions of Windows 7.
|
| “I don’t know that there’s much room to charge more than what’s been charged
| currently,” said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft in
| Kirkland, Washington. “I’m pessimistic about this.”
`----

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ahmXCOAixVMw&refer=us


Moblin V2 vs. Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Ubuntu MID

,----[ Quote ]
| Last week Intel had pushed out a second alpha release of Moblin V2 and now it
| boots even faster, which means they are down to the point of being able to
| boot in just a few seconds. Beyond a very quick boot process, they have
| already incorporated kernel mode-setting and other newer Linux/X.Org
| technologies while also working to build a desktop environment around the
| Clutter OpenGL tool-kit. Moblin is certainly turning into an interesting
| Intel creation, but how does its performance compare to other mobile-focused
| Linux distributions? We have benchmarked Moblin V2 Alpha 2 and compared it
| against what is likely their biggest competitor in the mobile space, Ubuntu
| Netbook Remix, and the LPIA-based Ubuntu MID edition. Which of these mobile
| operating systems is the fastest? We hope to find out today.
`----

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=moblin_ubuntu_mobile&num=1


What next for the netbook?

,----[ Quote ]
| Price-wise I'd say that high-end netbooks are perhaps getting too far away
| from the initial premise of a small, cheap companion. These days the high-end
| models cost at least $900. Kogan Technologies is set to shake things up with
| its $499 10-inch netbook running gOS - a flavour of Linux designed to play
| nicely with Google services. I'm wondering if this will put pressure on other
| netbook makers to get back to basics and release a stripped-down 10 inch
| netbook to compete at around the $500 mark. Such a price war would certainly
| see netbooks take off again.
`----

http://digihub.smh.com.au/node/422


Microsoft, FUD and the netbook market

,----[ Quote ]
| Brandon Le Blanc from Microsoft posted an interesting post about Netbooks and
| Linux last week. While we agreed with his comments about customers wanting
| choice and looking for outstanding hardware options, we disagree with much of
| his analysis and unsurprisingly the overall ’spin’ of the post.
|
| While FLOSS software has been improving year on year, the launch of the Asus
| eeePC with Linux in late 2007 sparked a extraordinary chain of events. We saw
| an increase in the number of models of computers shipping with Linux, the
| acceleration of the PC industry’s knowledge of how to work in a non-Windows
| environment and the repeated extension of XP’s shipping life.
`----

http://blog.canonical.com/?p=151
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