ASUS Coming Back to GNU/Linux at Robert Pogson

ASUS has announced the release of new tablet PCs for Christmas and 1Q 2011. One of the models will be 9 inch with ARM and Android. Competition is back at ASUS.
“As for the 9-inch models, Asustek will have one model adopt the ARM-based Nvidia Tegra 2 platform with Google’s Android operating system and the other the Wintel platform. The two 9-inch models will have a price gap of about US$100, Shen noted.”

$100. That is a reasonable difference for ARM+Android v x86+that other OS. Let the market decide. ASUS would not produce the ARMed version if it did not hear that the market wanted small cheap computers. ASUS is still small in notebooks, shipping only about 1 million per month, but in netbooks they shipped 0.5 million per month. They see the advantages of small and cheap in the market and they have good margins with x86. They will have much better margins with GNU/Linux. M$ will try to reduce those margins by taxing Android, but they will fail ultimately.

Other OEMs watch ASUS. 2010 will finish well and 2011 looks to be even better for GNU/Linux.

My Mission

My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. I do not care whether my solution is the same as yours. I like to think for myself.

My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. I have been blessed by working in schools where students and school systems have benefited by good, modular software easily installed in most systems.

I have shown GNU/Linux to thousands of students and hundreds of teachers over the years and will continue in some way doing that until I die in spite of the opposition.