Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 11 February 2008 11:28
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
The ASUS Eee PC comes pre-loaded with Xandros Linux, an operating
system far less susceptible to viruses, spyware, malware and the other
nasties that are almost of biblical proportions in the Windows world.
So, even though ASUS makes a Windows XP driver disc to allow the easy
installation of XP, and is due to start selling the Eee with XP
pre-loaded, is XP worth the worry?
When ASUS first developed their now legendary Eee PC, they designed it for a target market far different to that of the regular business PC: they designed it as a PC perfect for children and education.
So it was with great surprise that the Eee PC became such a hit with the general public, stunned as we all were with not only the incredibly affordable price point, but the elegance of a consumer friendly Linux operating system pre-loaded with just about all the software most people would ever need, without the hassles and worry of Windows malware.
Despite all the Ubuntus and Linspires of the world, and previous attempts at loading Linux onto a consumer PC sold through the WalMarts of the world and elsewhere, the Eee PC, in my mind at least, is the first true commercially successful computer with a flavour of Linux pre-loaded and sold almost as widely as any brand name Windows based PC that you can name.
ASUS knew that just loading Linux onto a computer was not enough, especially given that most of us aren’t Linux pros, ready to delve into the command line to type in arcane text commands.
So, aside from throwing in a few educational programs for kids, ASUS importantly decided to pre-load some free and/or open source favourites: Firefox, Open Office and the commercial (but free) Skype, among others.
Unlike the MacBook Air, ASUS also wisely decided to include several USB ports, an SD high capacity memory card socket and a standard VGA video port, instantly making the ASUS easily expandable and connectable to equipment plenty of people would simply have spare at home, such as external keyboards, mice and monitors.
The SD card even allows an incredible simple internal storage upgrade option, with 2GB and 4GB SD cards widely and cheaply available from any computer store.
All of this, and more, makes the ASUS Eee PC an incredible Linux computer, coming with just about everything the everyday computer user would be happy to use in the course of a regular day.
So, why would you ever want to put Windows XP onto what is almost consumer Linux PC perfection? Please read onto page 2.
