MSI Wind runs faster, longer with Vista than XP?

We already knew that it was possible to install Windows Vista on an MSI Wind. But why would anyone choose to load an operating system that takes up significantly more system resources on a tiny laptop with a relatively low powered CPU? Because you might just get more battery life and a more responsive PC, that’s why.

While Trusted Reviews found a MSI Wind running Vista to be a bit on the sluggish side, Notebook Review discovered that the notebook can handle Windows Vista quite well.

The trick is to find working LAN, WLAN, card reader, and Intel GMA 950 drivers. For the most part, it looks like the XP drivers MSI supplies will work. You also have to disable Vista features like Windows Update, System Restore, UAC, and scheduled hard drive defragmenting tasks in order to get a speed boost. But the upshot is that the reviewer found that the Wind scored higher on every benchmark when running Windows Vista than it had when running Windows XP.

The battery also lasted 2.5 hours instead of the 2 hours he was getting with Windows XP. This doesn’t surprise me. Windows Vista has significantly better power management than Windows XP, and the power settings are far more customizable. With CPU-intensive features disabled, I’d be surprised of the battery didn’t last longer under Vista.

So what do you think? Should MSI offer the option to order a Wind notebook running Windows Vista? Or should the brave few souls who want to install the OS just do it themselves?

[via Electric Pig]

Friday, July 18th, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

Two views: Linux is/is not key to Eee PC success

In the past two days, I’ve read two different articles about the role of Linux in the success of the Eee PC and other low-cost laptops. In one corner, APC Magazine reports that while Linux helped Asus and others drive down the cost of ultraportables, there’s a huge demand for the more familiar Windows operating system, which is what most manufacturers will now focus on. In the other corner, we have The Register, which reports that the reason you can’t find any Linux-based Eee PC 901 units at the moment is because of the Intel Atom CPU shortage.

Wait, what?

Basically, according to The Register, there aren’t enough Intel Atom processors to go around. And so while Asus has been producing an equal number of Linux and Windows machines, they haven’t been able to produce as many overall computers as planned. In other words, the reason you’re not seeing Linux models on the shelves is because they’re already sold out, leaving just the XP versions available.

This doesn’t seem particularly likely though, considering the fact that Asus predicted earlier this year that 60% of its Eee PC units would eventually be running Windows.

APC has a much more detailed article exploring the relationship between Linux and today’s low cost ultraportables. Asus, Acer, and other computer makers have definitely helped demonstrate that it’s possible to build a custom version of Linux that won’t scare away new Linux users. But when it comes time do something as simple as adding or removing software from an Eee PC, Windows users will find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Ultimately, the biggest accomplishment we may eventually be able to chalk up to Linux is that it gave laptop makers a bargaining chip and forced Microsoft to think about ways to extend the life of Windows XP and offer it for a low price to OEMs.

The APC Magazine doens’t offer any good explanation for why the Linux version of the Eee PC 901 is unavailable at the moment though.

Monday, July 14th, 2008 | Tags: , , , ,

Mandriva Flash 2008 Spring supports the Eee PC 900

The folks behind Mandriva Linux already added support for the Eee PC 700/701 series to their 2008.1 release which was released in April. That means you can install Mandriva on an Eee PC from a CD or from a flash drive and it will work out of the box, no modifications necessary. That means the Fn keys, the WiFi, and the graphics should all just work.

But if you have an Eee PC 900, you’ll need to tweak things a bit by upgrading your kernel and hal-info packages. But it turns out there’s another option: You can purchase the Mandriva Flash 2008 Spring edition for 59 Euros or about $91. This version comes on an 8GB USB flash disk and includes all the updates you need to get Mandriva 2008.1 up and running on an Eee PC 900.
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 | Tags: , , , ,

A closer look at Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Canonical doesn’t plan to launch Ubuntu Netbook Remix for a few more months. But if you’re itching to check out the customized version of Ubuntu designed for low cost subnotebooks like the Eee PC, the current source packages are already available for download. Keep in mind, this software is still under development, so your results may vary. Of course, open source software is always under development, but if you don’t want to risk mucking up your Ubuntu system, you might want to create a new user to test out the Netbook Remix interface.

Or you can just hop on over to Ars Technica, to read an early review of Ubuntu Netbook Remix. As I pointed out yesterday, the first thing you’ll notice is a new program launcher with big buttons optimized for computers with small screens. But Ubuntu Netbook Remix also has a novel program switcher. Instead of minimizing programs to the system tray, every program you open is always maximized. You switch between programs by selecting icons from the switcher bar. The effect is a lot like switching from one tab to another in a web browser.

The switcher bar is basically just an applet that you can add to the Gnome Panel. Underneath all the shiny Netbook Remix lies a full version of Ubuntu. So if you like the program launcher but not the switcher bar, all you have to do is remove the panel and customize your screen to your heart’s content.

Aside from the visual changes, Netbook Remix will also be optimized to work with Intel’s low-power Atom CPU. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that a stock Ubuntu distro won’t work with an Atom chip out of the box, Ubuntu Netbook Remix will be designed to take advantage of the chip’s power saving features.

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

Xandros sets sights on non-Eee PC ultraportables

When Asus first announced the Eee PC, the company explained that one of the ways it would keep the price down on its tiny laptops would be by shipping machines that run Linux instead of Windows. But Asus rose some eyebrows with its choice of Linux distributions. While Ubuntu, Fedora, and several other distros have gotten a lot of attention over the last few years for being consumer-friendly versions of Linux, Asus went with Xandros, a less popular distro.

There are a few advantages to Xandros. First, the distro is extremely conservtive, which means beta software doesn’t make it into the main repositories very often and if you install something that is in the repositories, there’s a good chance that it’s going to work. But on the down side, you’ll often have a hard time finding the newest versions of popular applications like OpenOffice.org or Firefox. There are other, more technical reasons some folks have a love/hate relationship with Xandros, but honestly I never paid much attention to the relationship between Xandros and Microsoft and all that other stuff.

Even though Asus is now giving Eee PC customers a choice between Windows and Linux, the initial decision to use Xandros has given the distribution a lot of attention. And it looks like the Xandros team wants to leverage that attention to market its software towards other netbook/ultraportable device makers.

It doesn’t sound like Xandros has signed any new partners just yet. But I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot more from this company in the future.

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 | Tags: , ,
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