Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 13th Aug 2008 12:10 UTC, submitted by judgen
As we all know by now, netbooks are the latest craze in the computing world. Small notebooks, perfect for on the go, and relatively cheap. The interesting thing is that these netbooks are often offered with Linux pre-installed instead of Windows, and this prompts many to believe that it is the netbook niche where Linux will gain its first solid foothold among the general populace. "It does a lot to level the playing field. In fact, Linux looks to be quick out of the gate," said Jay Lyman, analyst with the 451 Group. However - is that really happening?
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Member since:
2007-02-17
Interesting.
Are you aware of the emerging evidence that Linux versions of these netbooks are out-selling Windows versions?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/pc
In some recent news about netbooks it transpired that one model (I think it was an EEEPC) had been produced 50% Linux and 50% Windows, and the Linux versions had sold out but there were still plenty of Windows machines available.
For the significant majority of machines sold the OS will not be changed for the life of the machine. Most people do not have the ability or the confidence to install a different OS.
PS: As far as more general machines go, this is an interesting development:
http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2008/08/11/select-dell-notebooks-now-...
Edited 2008-08-13 12:40 UTC