Since Asus announced that it would release a Windows XP version of phenomenally popular Eee PC for the extra cost of a Windows license, market pundits have been kissing the cheaper Xandros Linux version goodbye. However, Asus is ambivalent about the issue.
According to a number of reports, Asus expects the Windows XP version of its sub-1kg notebook with 512MB RAM, 4GB Flash and a 7inch screen, to comprise more than 60% of sales of the device, leaving the Linux version in its dust. However, the company insists that the Linux version will still be sold. And why wouldn't it?
Ever since it came on the market in October 2007, the Linux version of the Eee PC has sold hundreds of thousands of units worldwide. For users who want a small lightweight computer that can surf the Web in Wi-Fi hot spots, exchange Skype messages and emails using Gmail, do basic office productivity functions using Open Office, the Linux Eee PC is perfect.
Linux and FOSS were made for such a machine - lean, cheap, easy to use and nothing more to spend. And certainly nothing extra to spend on resource sucking anti-virus and anti-spyware packages.
So why has Asus decided to put out more expensive Windows XP versions of the Eee PC? Simple - people want them.
Earlier this year, a friend showed me his Eee PC recently purchased in an electronics market in Thailand. It was running a version of Windows XP that had been loaded by the store. In fact he says that's the reason he bought it. He was browsing stores looking at Linux Eee PCs with mild interest but as soon as he came across a unit that was running Windows, he snapped it up. Why?
My friend is a self-confessed unsophisticated tech junkie but when it comes to computers all he knows is Windows. He believes Windows is better because that's what he's familiar with. He can also run iTunes on Windows (he's also a music junkie) and Skype is more advanced on Windows. He can even run IE7 and Outlook Express (heaven knows why he would want to).
n a nutshell, multiply my unsophisticated consumer friend by hundreds of millions and you've got a ready made market for a Windows XP version of the Eee PC, complete with its bloatware, susceptibility to viruses, system slow-downs and freezes while the security software does its regular scans and its inflated price. Like it or not, it's the way things are.
Meanwhile, does this portend the demise of the Linux Eee PC? Absolutely not! They're still flying off store shelves in volumes that no other Linux consumer computer has in history. For the first time ever, I can go down to a local major electronics and office products chain store and buy a Linux Eee PC off the shelf. The market for consumer Linux computers has been established. Chances are Asus will keep it that way.
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