One of the biggest problems when it comes to running Windows on netbooks has to do with the type of storage medium the cheaper models prefer: solid state drives. SSDs need to be treated differently from normal, mechanical hard drives because SSDs don't like small write and delete operations. For Windows 7, Microsoft promised performance improvements when using SSDs, so the guys and girls at TweakTown decided to do a preliminary benchmark between Windows Vista SP1 and the Windows 7 beta. The results are clear.
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Member since:
2008-10-23
This has always looked weired to me. Who pays €40 for Windows on a netbook that cost less than €300?
Unless the netbook you want is only available with Windows (why this happens is beyond me?), what is the point? It's not like you are going to play the latest games or edit large pictures with Photoshop. Maybe Windows 7 is a bit faster than linux on some models, but is that worth €40? Do you feel a real difference that justify that cost? I would rather buy a model with more powerful batteres or a better screen...
Member since:2005-07-07
On the photography forums that I frequent, there are many who use netbooks for on the move edits. I don't really see the attraction myself since I would rather edit photos on a fast machine with a huge monitor. Nevertheless, if forum traffic is anything to go by there are quite a number of people who would like to run photo editing tools on netbooks.
Member since:2007-10-15
Member since:2005-07-01
No-one. Certainly not the OEMs anyway. I've heard rumor that, in some cases, Microsoft may even have payed some manufacturers to ship XP rather than Linux on their netbooks. True or not, they certainly aren't paying much for the old OS.
Member since:2007-02-17
No-one. Certainly not the OEMs anyway. I've heard rumor that, in some cases, Microsoft may even have payed some manufacturers to ship XP rather than Linux on their netbooks. True or not, they certainly aren't paying much for the old OS. "
That certainly matches with the behaviour of the OEMs. When netbooks first appeared, they had 7-inch screens, tiny keyboards, small SSDs, small batteries and a constrained version of Linux with an easy-to-use interface. Windows (any form) wasn't an option.
There was a customer desire for slightly bigger screens and keyboards, and to have an unconstrained version of Linux (with a full repository). What actually happened is that the netbooks got 9 or 10 inch screens and bigger keyboard and battery all-right, but they also got a hard disk, XP installed and no unconstrained version of Linux in sight. They also doubled in price.
In my country, one cannot buy a Linux netbook from retail stores. Dell Australia won't even bring a Linux netbook into the country. This is how much the local retailers are under the thumb of Microsoft.
Member since:2007-05-12
In my country, one cannot buy a Linux netbook from retail stores. Dell Australia won't even bring a Linux netbook into the country. This is how much the local retailers are under the thumb of Microsoft.
Ouch..... That's nasty.
I'm "across the ditch" in New Zealand and there is a reasonable selection of Linux netbooks here.
Member since:2007-02-17
In my country, one cannot buy a Linux netbook from retail stores. Dell Australia won't even bring a Linux netbook into the country. This is how much the local retailers are under the thumb of Microsoft.
Ouch..... That's nasty.
I'm "across the ditch" in New Zealand and there is a reasonable selection of Linux netbooks here. "
I'm so jealous.
I was in New Zealand a few weeks back, and I had a quick look in a store there to see if the situation was better. I saw only netbooks with WinXP pre-installed, and the prices seemed very high ... almost $800 NZ for models that were $550 AUD locally.
According to a currency converter, the current rate is this:
550.00 AUD = 685.631 NZD
... so perhaps I am not quite as jealous as I might otherwise have been.
New Zealand is a very beautiful country.
Member since:2005-06-29
Have you considered the possibility that the retailers might know a little better what their customers want than you do?
If they could sell Linux netbooks and make money, they would.
Member since:2008-10-23
Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2008-10-23
customers = customer + customer + customer + ...
Not all customers are the same.
At least one of those customers want linux, therefore customers don't want Windows. A part of customers may want Windows, but there is another part that want linux.
The retailers know it and just choose to ignore some of their customers. Original post gives a hint on their motivations to do so.
Edited 2009-01-20 12:43 UTC
Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2008-05-26
lemur: Look in your local Officeworks. That's where I got my Acer Aspire One with Linpus. The Good Guys also have/had them. Unfortunately, the version of Linpus they have is so badly constrained that I had to install Ubuntu just to get a non-broken package manager.
If you're looking for anything except the Aspire One, you're out of luck. I wish Dell had the Ubuntu-based Mini.
Member since:2007-02-17
If you're looking for anything except the Aspire One, you're out of luck. I wish Dell had the Ubuntu-based Mini.
I did see an Acer Aspire One in OfficeWorks with Linpus Linux, now that you come to mention it.
What I personally was looking for, however, was a 10" model with Bluetooth. I have bought two models ... an MSI Wind U100 and an ASUS 1000H ... both had 80GB hard disks and Windows XP.
Dumping XP was not a problem, nor was dual-booting either of these. What to put on them though?
On both models, the only current Linux distributions that has all required drivers by default is Mandriva. Mandriva doesn't play well with Unetbootin or other methods of installation ... so I had to cobble together a temporary external CDROM drive via USB to get it installed. Unfortunately with Mandriva, I had trouble with the repositories.
For Ubuntu, there is a special kernel, called the array kernel, that works, and there are a few websites (eeeubuntu is one) where one can pick up a modified version of Ubuntu that will work on a ASUS EEEPC.
http://www.geteasypeasy.com/
http://www.eeebuntu.org/
Only GNOME or XFCE are available though with Ubuntu, however. I had to type the following to get what I wanted:
sudo apt-get remove mono-common libmono0
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop
All of this rigmarole is way beyond what most people would be prepared to go through, however, meaning that for most Aussies, getting a nice complete Linux desktop on a capable 10" netbook with hard drive is next-to-impossible.
Member since:2008-10-23
http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Docs/Installing_Mandriva_Linux
Install grub from Windows: https://gna.org/projects/grub4dos/
Download the free CD1 or the dvd, mount it with -o loop -t iso9660, copy the vmlinuz and all.rdz files to your hard drive, add them to menu.lst
Boot your new mandriva installer from the hard drive and select the iso file. This will launch the Mandriva installer.
Member since:2007-02-17
Install grub from Windows: https://gna.org/projects/grub4dos/
Download the free CD1 or the dvd, mount it with -o loop -t iso9660, copy the vmlinuz and all.rdz files to your hard drive, add them to menu.lst
Boot your new mandriva installer from the hard drive and select the iso file. This will launch the Mandriva installer.
I must be a bit slow today or something ... but I have encountered these instructions a few times before, and they do not hang together.
Assumption: You start with a netbook with XP, and a working Internet connection.
OK, then you can do the following steps:
(1) Install grub from Windows: https://gna.org/projects/grub4dos/
(2) Download the free CD1 or the dvd
... but then it goes south at the next step
(?) mount it with -o loop -t iso9660
There seem to be a few missing steps here, or perhaps an assumption of another machine equipped with a CD or DVD drive with Linux installed.
I'm not sure. Perhaps you can mount the .iso file from a prompt in grub for dos after a reboot?
As I said ... I'm a bit slow today. I haven't been able to follow these steps, as they lack sufficient detail.
Member since:2008-10-23
Sorry I didn't explain very well.
You don't have to mount the iso file at all (difficult on Windows).
Here are all the steps:
1/ Install grub from windows (there are several ways to do it but https://gna.org/projects/grub4dos/ is a good way to do it).
2/ Download the iso file of Mandriva free (easy to find on mandriva web site)
3/ Download the vmlinuz and all.rdz file from a Mandriva mirror: here is one from a german mirror:
ftp://ftp.join.uni-muenster.de/pub/linux/distributions/mandrakelin...
4/ Put the vmlinuz and all.rdz somewhere on your hard drive and configure your grub C:\menu.lst to boot these
5/ reboot
Mandriva installer will ask where you put the iso file and install Mandriva.
This is all explained here:
http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Docs/Installing_Mandriva_Linux
look at the chapter titled:
'Booting the installer direct from a hard disk - Windows method'
Member since:
2006-05-19
Member since:
2007-04-29
Member since:2006-02-05
that was two weeks ago http://www.osnews.com/story/20720/_Windows_7_Outperforms_XP_Vista_
Member since:
2005-08-12
I see nothing significant here. a few percent means nothing. Considering the power of cpu's these days, even going from 3 to 4% usage to 1% means little, and could be a fluke, as it was noted that it looked odd.
For notebooks, who is going to have such a fast SSD anyway? No one. flash will be treated as memory, not a hard drive, because there is no SATA interface.
Sorry, but this looks like a wash. If we saw a 25% improvement in most areas, then I'd say that it mattered, but not this.
Member since:
2007-02-17
Member since:
2007-02-27
just install this patch http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960735/en-us
and your SSD in Vista will perform like Win7
Member since:
2005-09-15
The only thing that makes the results significant is that Win 7 beta was consistently better.
That said, it doesn't seem that any of the results were statistically significant.
And, as someone pointed out, you can tweak or patch Vista to perform about as well.
Try harder next time, TweakTown and thanks for playing.
Edited 2009-01-20 16:34 UTC
