Ubiquitous Linux, or, how to become a household commodity

David M Williams
Sunday, 01 June 2008 08:00

Opinion and Analysis

Firstly, Elonex are putting their money where their mouth is: it’s one thing to claim every child ought to have a laptop and it would be easy for cynics to point out that most vendors would say every person ought to buy their product. However, Elonex do demonstrate a commitment to enabling this lofty ambition. They state that for every 100 ONEs sold, they will donate a ONE to underprivileged children from disadvantage areas.

Additionally, the company is working with the British National Laptop Initiative (NLI) although information on this is quite sparse. The NLI web site offers a clickable link for information on their current and forthcoming projects but when you click it a page simply comes up to check back later. According to Elonex, schools can apply to the NLI to be considered for the projects the NLI will be promoting.

Thirdly, Elonex will make available an online site called ONEunion which will bring ONE users together; here they will be able to contribute artwork and music, chat and participate in competitions. The marketing strategy by Elonex does have to be commended because it clearly is aiming to further education through computer literacy.

Now, returning to hardware, although I commented on how much the ONE seems reminiscent of the Eee there are some differences. I already mentioned the resolution which while taller is narrower. Further you get only 1Gb flash storage on board. There is a higher end model – surpassing the 100 pound price – which comes with 2Gb (and a built-in Bluetooth adapter too.) Like the Eee, you do have the capability to slot in removable memory and this is pretty necessary given the skimpy amount built in – just bear in mind it is an extra, and therefore, again, brings the unit over the 100 pound catchphrase amount. Similarly, the ONE has 128Mb RAM. The higher end model doubles this with a still uninspiring 256Mb. The Eee includes 512Mb RAM, and even then many pundits advocate a quick upgrade to 1Gb at least.

Still, it comes with a splash-proof keyboard which will help avoid disaster during the inevitable calamity that comes from mixing computers and children. And did I mention by the way it’s under a hundred pounds? I’m sure we’d all like more bang but a functional, usable, self-contained computer at this price point definitely is a major event.

Now, I didn’t really put finger to keyboard to give a big plug to the Elonex ONE. It’s true you ought to know it’s coming, because – like the Eee – it will no doubt be a massive seller once again bringing Linux into the hands of the hoi polloi. I think it will also be interesting to monitor their efforts concerning schools and check out in twelve months just how many UK children are laptop-enabled.

Where all this is leading to is how ASUS and Elonex – and others; the Everex gPC as well as Dell’s Ubuntu desktop PC for two – are tapping into a way of making Linux mainstream that distro companies haven’t, and perhaps cannot, achieve.

CONTINUED