Last month we covered an article titled, "MSI: Wind Doing Well, Linux Version Not So Much" which revealed that Linux MSI Wind netbooks saw a return rate upto four times higher than the Windows equivalent. But in a recent interview with the CEO of Asus he revealed that Linux and Window versions of Asus Eee PC have similar return rates. He also described the plans for 2009 and talked about some changes to come in the Operating System for the netbooks.
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Member since:2008-07-15
On the early netbooks this was certainly true. With much of the recent models however it is not so impractical as you would think. Sure, you're not going to be doing any heavy audio or video work on them and they're definitely not meant for 3d gaming. But apart from that, most software--be it a windows program or a *NIX program--actually will run quite well. Most of the problems experienced are related to the bottleneck of disk access, as some of these netbooks come with horrible SSDs and require a lot of tweaking. I usually avoid the SSDs at this point and get a straight hd for this reason, I like the space and the faster speed. I know SSD could be faster than a hard drive, and on the high quality SSDs this is probably true. But they're expensive for the amount of space you get, and most netbooks for this reason come with cheap SSDs that make even a 1.8-inch, 4200 RPM hard drive look fast.
Member since:2005-09-13
Member since:2007-06-29
Ummmmm.... Netbooks usually lack an optical drive (i.e. CD/DVD)
So, even if they do buy an off-the-shelf title they would not be able to use it on any netbook without attaching a USB CDROM drive.
Now, if you were to claim that a netbook owner who is used to downloading and installing anything they run across online suddenly can't because they are using a Linux based netbook then I would agree with you. Once you show a Linux based netbook user where to find the software management app they are set. Especially when you mention the word free.
And, as an added bonus: My mom recently returned her Windows-based netbook. After using it for a couple of weeks to pay her bills online she had some unauthorized activity in her bank account. Coincidence?
Maybe, but the performance was really bad. And, Windows kept getting in her way with popup messages.
Member since:
2005-07-06
I always thought this was bunk. It's like saying that people return Symbian, Android and iPhone mobiles because they don't run Windows Mobile or that your new TV doesn't have a Windows menu. People want to browse the web, get to their e-mail and do a few other set tasks. There's no way that you can install and use all the software that people use on Windows on a netbook. It's too impractical to use most applications and it is obvious to everyone when they buy it.