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Asus innovation taking Linux into the cloud E-mail
by Stan Beer   
Monday, 19 May 2008
First through the Eee PC and now through its PC motherboards, Asus is rapidly carving a global reputation for itself as the company which knows how to take Linux mainstream. The question is will including the minimalist cut-down version of Linux called Splashtop on a million motherboards a month finally bring on the Linux desktop age or has it made the desktop redundant?

Before we go any further, we must say hats off to Asus for having its finger on the pulse of what consumers want instead of trying to tell them what they need.

Following the initial success of the Eee PC 700, Asus correctly gauged consumer sentiment that including a 9-inch screen without altering the unit's footprint would further propel the success of this unique little hardware and software package. And so it has. The multi-touch mousepad Eee PC 900 coupled with Asus' customised version of Xandros Linux, priced at around $600-650, is a winner.

Now Asus demonstrates further that it has tapped in to the strengths of Linux by promising to embed Splashtop (branded Express Gate by Asus) on a million motherboards a month. However, this is no attempt to bundle a full-blown pre-installed Linux distro like Ubuntu or Suse as an alternative to Windows. This is something quite different. This is instant on computing.

With Express Gate, Asus aims to provide its factory set motherboards with functionality that currently doesn't exist. The vast majority of consumer PC sessions these days are mainly concerned with surfing the Web and chatting with friends using instant messaging and VoIP. Asus motherboards packing Express Gate will enable those users to be up and running, surfing the Web with Firefox and chatting to friends on Skype within seconds of turning on their machine.

It's a holy grail on 'instant-on' computing that Microsoft and Intel have only ever dreamed of, but have so far, failed to achieve. CONTINUED



 
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The Beerfiles IT BLOG BeerFiles is an in-your-face and sometimes irreverent blog concerning all things to do with IT, technology, people and the media from the point of view of a hard boiled technology journalist and commentator.