Star MSI: Wind Doing Well, Linux Version Not So Much
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 5th Oct 2008 21:21 UTC
Hardware, Embedded Systems The netbook craze is currently in full swing, with these small laptops being advertised everywhere (at least here in The Netherlands); in fact, you can already get netbooks with 3G from the mobile phone carriers at severely reduced prices (but with a one or two year contract, of course). Netbooks are also welcomed by the Linux community as the break they've been waiting for: many netbooks are available with Linux pre-installed. One of the more successful (and powerful) netbooks out there is MSI's Wind, which is also sold under different brand and model names by other companies. In an interview with LaptopMag, MSI's Director of US Sales Andy Tung, however, has some bad news for those that believe the netbook will be the foot in the door that the Linux desktop has been waiting for.
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RE: Always go to a shop
by lemur2 on Mon 6th Oct 2008 06:16 UTC in reply to "Always go to a shop"
lemur2
Member since:
2007-02-17

I went to PC world to play with a advent 4211(msi wind) before making my decision, I dont understand how you can truly evaluate a laptop without poking the kyb and seeing how it 'feels'

i think too many people bought online without using it first and were then surprised it wasn't windows!


That would be the most common reason for a return, I would have thought.

"I bought this thing but it isn't exactly what I thought it was. Sorry, I just assumed it would be Windows".

What the MSI spokesman doesn't tell us is what the return rates actually are. If they aren't that high ... then it could still be the case that not many are returned for Linux but even fewer are returned for Windows (purely because the Windows version match the buyers expectations).

Finally, the MSI Linux version ships with SuSe doesn't it? This is probably the Linux distribution least adapted for use on netbooks.

The original EEEPCs and also the Acer aspire One machines were selling Linux well by including a specific UI that made them easy to use as netbooks.

Perhaps MSI could improve their Linux offering by going with something like this (tailored for use on netbooks) instead of SuSe:
http://www.ubuntu-eee.com/?module=moreinfo

Edited 2008-10-06 06:17 UTC

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