In 2007 innovated by bringing forth a netbook with GNU/Linux and did very well with it. They then back-slid and went with that other OS exclusively in 2008. Now they are back, planning some new gadgets running GNU/Linux, two tablets, one ARM and one x86:
“Asustek is also set to launch a tablet PC, the Eee Note, and an e-book reader, the Eee Reader, in Taiwan and Europe in October. The Eee Note adopts an ARM-based Marvell processor and Linux-based operating system, designed by Asustek, for a price of US$199-299. Asustek will also launch a Wintel-based Eee Pad tablet PC in December with the model using a 10-inch panel, Nvidia Tegra processor and Android operating system, to show up in the first quarter of 2011 for a price below US$399.”
Whether this is just another yank at M$’s chain or a real expression of independence time will tell. In the meantime ASUS is doing development with GNU/Linux. One of the projects, being ARMed, should be free of that other OS for a good while.
I do not see tablets as a mainstream consumer item because they are not with a keyboard but they do have lots of application for simple browsing/media playing and dedicated applications but not as good an alternative PC as the netbook.
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Pog:
It seems to me that netbooks are nothing more than anemic laptops – Too small to do real work and still a nuisance to use as full page readers or media consumers.
I have had quite a few chances to work with the iPad Having worked with the iPad (I’m on the list to get one with 3G capability at work) I can attest IMHO that it is just as functional as a netbook with the added plus of being able to read in full page format (without having to hold. The didgital keyboard is perfectly adequate for occasional use, and one can always resort to a bluetooth keyboard if more heavy duty typing is needed.
In comparison, all of the netbooks that I have seen have been in the hands of system administrator types(many of whom have hackintoshed their netbooks BTW) and the tech-savvy early adopter Business types. And even with the tech-savvy adopters, I’ve seen a few of the netbook early adopters among them toss toss aside their netbooks for an iPad 3G
IMHO, If people can put up with the limitations of smartphones, they will put up with the lack of a real keyboard.
I would not be all that surprised to see android based tablets with 3G built in become popular in the third world.
I don’t think the desktop is disappearing. I think it’s being redefined. Microsoft is simply not moving fast enough. Their business model requires them to extract maximum revenue from each innovation. Think of the endemic flip view in Windows 7 compared to any desktop animations in GNU/Linux. It would take Microsoft 20 years to reach that level of sophistication at the rate they’re going. To squeeze their boated OS into anything less than a laptop means fewer features, not more. Microsoft may be able to meter their innovation but cannot control the innovation of an industry. The desktop is changing and netbooks and other mobile devices are putting the pinch on Microsoft’s wiggle room.
My daughter’s house used to run on three laptops and two desktops. Now it runs on two Eee PCs. One of which is not fully functional. They’ve always been mostly a Microsoft house. Fortunately a good friend of my daughter is an uber geek. He’s been able to keep things running, mostly. It’s not by choice that they only have two netbooks. The netbooks are loaded with XP (no license) by the geek. My daughter is growing very weary of Microsoft. It’s just a matter of time.
Mr. Chapman:
I dont think the desktop is disappearing either, but I do not think that its presence in the world will increase that much beyond what it is now. What does seem, however to have increased dramatically in popularity, are mobile computing platforms in the form of the iPhone and the Droid. It is in this context that I have watched a local explosion in the use of the iPad – all by people who already use such smart phones.
While some of these users are computer savvy who view their tablets as adjuncts of a more powerful desktop, there are many others who find the iPad with 3G capability to be all the computer they will ever need – At most the go for the bluetooth keyboard for extended typing sessions. I expect this phenomenon to continue to expand as the android based tablets to start to ship.
What I do not expect to proliferate are netbooks for the reasons that I cited above.
As far as your comments on Microsoft is concerned, my only comment is this:
I have long ceased caring what operating system that I run. What I do care about are the applications that help me be happy and productive in both work and play. To me the operating system has become nothing more that the bit of color that I see on my desktop while I am starting the application that I use.
The simple fact is that applications that I have found myself most productive with run on windows OS. I have looked for the alternatives, but in every case I have found them either wanting or non existent.
When I can get my applications running on another OS or when I can find applications that meet my requirements, I will consider the alternative. In the meanwhile I shall continue to run those windows based applications on windows and my Linux applications on instances of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 5 x64 and Centos 5 x64 that are running quite happily as guests under windows,
and that is that.
It’s hard to beat a netbook for portability. Compared to a tablet the main difference is a touch-screen. I have not used a touch-screen regularly but I have spent many years telling students pointing at a screen not to touch. I will never be comfortable touching screens/eyes (the windows to the soul of the computer). Also, fingers are dirty/oily things and looking through smudges does not appeal to me.
There is nothing wrong with small. The tiny netbooks can do more than the run-of-the-mill desktop of a few years ago except for the huge drives that we don’t need and the fans that we don’t need. I like thin clients because they are small and a netbook or even a laptop can be used the same way with a decent keyboard and screen attached. Close the lid and it’s the same size and shape. Hang it on the back of the monitor when using a monitor. It all works. Anyone who needs huge computing power will access a server/cluster remotely anyway. There is no need to be in the same room with heat and noise while you work.
Pog:
Before I worked with Apples iPad, I ight have actually agreed with you about notebooks. My experiences thus far with Apples version have changed my mind.
If the truth be known I have been doing remote desktop computing for some time now. One does not need a thin client to reap its benefits, nor does one need Linux. I fully expect to be doing a most of what remains of my system administration functions remotely from a virtualized desktop running an a server farm.
When it comes to my own personal productivity, however I have ZERO interest in anything other than a full blown personal computer, Be it desktop or laptop, under my direct control.
You just nailed my one biggest pet peeve in computing: touching a screen with one’s finger, leaving an oily print. Not only is it difficult to clean, it’s depressing to look at.
For technical gadgets such as the iPad, it would be hard for me to stand; I would be wiping it on my shirt constantly. =/
However, if you’ve used thinkpads, (I own the x41 and x61 tablets) they are amazing as they incorporate keyboards and wacom screens. Meaning, no finger touches are necessary to get tablet functionality PLUS one can code on them well enough. Keyboards are smaller than standard, but larger than netbooks.
And I must note that the x61 actually recognizes finger-touches, so you technically could use it like an iPad.
They make great dev machines, they keyboards are excellent and the wacom pens don’t even need to touch the screen to move the pointer.
One downside is that replacement pens are a costly investment if you lose it.
I use the screen for taking notes and soon, working on graphics. The best thing is, hooking up a keyboard/mouse/monitor to this machine means you have the best of all worlds. If the iPad wasn’t so dumbed down and locked down, it could obtain feature-parity on a device that’s ~3 years older; and yes, I use Linux on it. (Gentoo)
Tablets are great for generating user content, which might be why they are selling well. I bought the x41 because it was cheaper than a netbook at the time and had a low-voltage processor. On battery power, it goes from 1.5 GHz to 800MHz. Unless you watch flash videos, it remains cool and the 8-cell battery can withstand ~3-4 hours of basic work. Great for something 5-6 years prior.
If there had to be a moral in this post, it would be that I can do so much with so little computing power. Currently I have nothing > 2.0 Ghz dual core and a x1400 radeon dedicated video card (on my T61). Everything else is Intel/VIA graphics.
Each and every machine can run desktop effects (KWin, Compiz) with ease.
Can’t wait for ARM.