netbookTag Archive for netbook archive at Robert Pogson

Tag Archive for 'netbook'

Google Elephant in the Kitchen

Published by Robert Pogson January 2nd, 2009 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

The relationship between Google and M$ is very interesting. Google operates in a different universe, one so far, far away from M$ that M$ has not been able to touch it. Google got into business on the web which M$ does not control. With a huge search/ad business, they could be a competitor of M$ but they are not, because M$ started so late. Now, it develops, Google has found a worm-hole back into M$’s universe and is readying an army of developers to flood M$’s universe with Android applications. Android was known to be developed for cell-phones but it has been discovered that Android can be compiled from source to produce a desktop OS.

Wow! A small bit of tweaking allows Android to run on netbooks… Google must be up on SunTzu:

Thus we may know that there are five essentials
for victory:
(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when
not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior
and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same
spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take
the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity and is
not interfered with by the sovereign.

Thus, while appearing not to be dangerous or aggressive, Google has set up everything needed to depose M$ on the desktop, a huge army of developers, a platform easily ported to anything, and a revenue-generator. All that remains is the announcement of the battle, or perhaps, the victory.

If we look at netbooks as the battle-ground, and assume the end-user is agnostic (the OS just works), then market share will go as 1/N where M$ counts as one OS in the battle. There are many GNU/Linux choices, all making ground. Android can instantly push into the fray and take a huge portion because there could be a huge financial incentive to the OEMs in a partnership with Google… XP has perhaps 70% of new netbooks today. By next year it could have as little as 20% because it has nothing in particular that the consumer wants in this space. No bloat, please. No phoning home! No DRM! No licence-fee!

Once netbooks are overwhelmed, the notebook and desktop can follow because there is no particular difference that matters to Android/GNU/Linux. This is a one-way worm-hole. Google can attack and M$ has no response. Can they buy Yahoo? Can they build a decent OS for free? No way. Can they pay the whole world to install that other OS? Not for long. The world is too large to buy.

- Robert Pogson

Breakthrough at Dell?

Published by Robert Pogson October 13th, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

The VarGuy reports:

“First, some details about the advertisement. Many many U.S. newspapers on Sunday, October 12, included a multi-page Dell flier. Among the many products advertised was the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, a low-cost sub-notebook designed for email and Web browsing.

You may recall that the Mini 9 is available with either Ubuntu Linux 8.04 or Microsoft Windows Vista. But this particular advertisement made no mention of the Windows option. Instead, Ubuntu was prominently mentioned and had the spotlight to itself.”

That is a first, Dell pushing GNU/Linux. It’s on a netbook, but it is GNU/Linux. I have been pushing Dell to do that for years but they did not. Who knows why? Perhaps they did not want to offend M$. Perhaps they are motivated to do anything to boost flagging sales. Perhaps they do not want to miss the wave of adoption. HP, now Dell, … Who’s next to start flogging GNU/Linux as a smart system for the desktop?

There’s more news. The website of Dell, which was waist-deep mud if you were in a hurry to find GNU/Linux, now has a link to the Mini-9 on their start page that comes straight to Ubuntu and almost-head-to-head price competition (the featured XP-versions include 4gB more SSD but you can customize the Ubuntu GNU/Linux version). It’s the same for dell.com as dell.ca. Isn’t that cool? The reviews of the product on dell.com are mostly about XP and its problems. People feel the need to add gigabytes. The Ubuntu review that I found discusses the features, not the performance. There is no “Dell recommends that other OS”, no separate page in a back room off the alley. It’s right there where you can find it. They do not have bright yellow… So what? I can have something very small and highly portable without the tax. Freedom.

I am preparing to give a presentation at a conference in 2009. This would be a neat device to show off. I should be able to use it as an X-terminal as well. $349 is a little higher than some others but at least the tax is gone.

- Robert Pogson

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.