Posts Tagged ‘netbooks’

Where Do Tablet PCs Fit in the Market?

The web is abuzz with all kinds of bloggers and other writers talking of how 2010 will be ‘the year of the tablet pc‘. I have to admit, these devices look really cool, but where do they fit in? I’m getting a bit confused about what these tablets are supposed to replace and what exact function they would serve in my life.

A conversation by the BBC with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said it all for me. During the interview, Ballmer was talking about why the tablet would take off this year after years of trying. Ballmer did raise some good points about technology evolving, however, he raised a big question for me. During the interview he stated that, “These things are not replacement [devices] in every sense.” Meaning, one won’t replace their laptop or smartphone with a tablet. My problem is, where does that leave the tablet, then?

For me personally, I’m sick of having more gadgets. I’ve got a BlackBerry, an iPod, a MacBook, a Wii, a DVR, and a desktop computer. I’ve like the idea of having a Kindle and maybe a GPS device, but I’ve been turned off about the idea of having yet another device to throw into my backpack or pocket. If a tablet PC can’t replace one of my gadgets (hopefully a gadget that’s larger than the tablet), then it definitely has no place in my home. In addition to that, I’m not sure what economy these people are living in that we can afford all these devices plus purchase another one that doesn’t let us not purchase either a phone or a laptop.

The closest thing that I’ve heard of a tablet replacing is a netbook. That may be the case, only time will tell. The problem with that logic in my mind, however, is that the tablet PCs will likely be significantly higher-priced than netbooks have been so far which might make them cost-prohibitive as replacements for netbooks.

Of course, only time will tell, but I’m not yet convinced that these tablet PCs will see nearly the market share that we’re being led to believe. If Ballmer is right (I believe he is here) and these devices are just add-ons and not replacements for traditional laptops or smartphones, the tablet is doomed to be a niche product forever.

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Filed under Tech Trends : Comments (0) : Jan 11th, 2010

Linux Distros Have Had ‘App Stores’ For Years

It appear that the next company to join the ‘App Store’ bandwagon will be Novell. According to PCPro, they’re considering launching an App Store for netbooks, much like vendors have been doing in Apple’s footsteps for the mobile phone market. The App Store would be in the openSUSE version of Moblin and would essentially allow users to install open source applications with a few clicks on their netbooks. One of the things that they’re depending upon to attract users to the platform and store is the fact that its applications are available for free.

What I find completely ridiculous about this whole thing is that it just might work. Linux users (including openSUSE users) have had repository after repository open for them to use for years. openSUSE (or Ubuntu, Red Hat, take your pick..) have had the ability to have these few-click installs for their users this whole time but most people don’t know what a repository is.

Novell VP of Business Development Holger Dyroff told us that “it’s also a method of educating people about the benefits of open source”. I don’t think this will work for educating people about open source, however. People will learn that “open source app store” means free as in price and not care about free as in freedom. Good or bad, this idea of an app store does seem to have brought this idea of repositories of software to be installed to the masses.

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Filed under News : Comments (0) : Jun 9th, 2009

Asus Embarrassed by Linux Netbook?

At the Computex trade show, Qualcomm showed off an Asus Eee running Google’s Android OS. We’ve been hearing about Android as a possibility on netbooks for a while now, but haven’t seen a vendor who’s done it until now. Asus should be proud. Instead, Asus chairman Jonney Shih has apologized for the showing, saying:

“Frankly speaking … I would like to apologize that, if you look at Asus booth, we’ve decided not to display this product. I think you may have seen the devices on Qualcomm’s booth but actually, I think this is a company decision so far we would not like to show this device. That’s what I can tell you so far. I would like to apologize for that.”

Why is Asus so scared of showing off a netbook with Android as its base? I’m guessing Microsoft has something to do with it.

So far Linux has been met with very little success on the netbook — just like the desktop. This should be expected as netbooks are suppsed to be just a smaller version of laptops and I would expect that people would prefer the same operating system on both. Why should Microsoft be stiff-arming Asus like this? In a word: Google. Microsoft hasn’t had to play catch up to anyone for nearly as long as they’ve been chasing Google. Obviously, Google has a long ways to go (in fact, they have hardly gone anywhere so far), but Microsoft appears to be a bit nervous and trying to keep its friends in close check.

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Filed under News : Comments (0) : Jun 3rd, 2009

System76’s Ubuntu Netbook Has Arrived

A few weeks ago I commented on System76’s report that their sales were up 61% in Q1 and also mentioned that they were working on a netbook. Well, their netbook has arrived and is one sweet lookin’ little machine. What sets this netbook apart from the others is that this system is available only with Ubuntu, with no Windows version available. They call it the Starling Netbook and it has a 10.1″ screen and weighs in at 2.6 pounds. The laptop is slightly less than twice the thickness of the MacBook Air, but with a smaller screen, it weighs in almost half a pound lighter. It sports a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive. It has all the common features of other netbooks as well with a built-in webcam and three USB ports.

system76-netbook

To complement the sleek-looking hardware, the netbook comes preinstalled with Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix. The Netbook Remix edition of Ubuntu has a redesigned GUI to work better with smaller screens and on machines a bit lighter on hardware specs. Part of the emphasis on the 9.04 release was a focus on netbooks and the OS wasn’t available for long before System76 jumped on the opportunity.

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Filed under News : Comments (0) : Apr 28th, 2009

Linux Usage on Servers Looking Good, Netbooks Suffering

The recently Novell-sponsored IDC survey revealed that usage of Linux on the server as well as the desktop is up and will continue to grow in popularity. The survey polled 300 IT professionals at companies with more than 100 employees in several industries. According to the response, 55 percent of organizations are using Linux servers in their operations. 72 percent of the respondents reported that they were evaluating starting to use Linux or increase their use of Linux on the server side. On the desktop side, 68 percent said they were evaluating or going to increase usage. Approximately 49 percent said they were planning to run entirely on Linux on their servers within the next five years. With people scared about what the economy will bring them, they have been turning to lower-cost alternatives to Windows and don’t appear to be looking back.

On the netbook side, however, Linux isn’t doing so hot. In the past, the netbook market has been famed as the area where Linux would dominate. The numbers just aren’t showing this trend, though. Netbooks sold with Windows have accounted for 90% of netbook sales. Microsoft could face some competition, however, with Google planning to release a netbook as well as rumors of an Apple netbook next year.

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Filed under News : Comments (0) : Mar 22nd, 2009

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