According to this article on DigiTimes, ASUS is planning on introducing a low cost desktop version of the Eee PC sometime in 2008. Furthermore, they will begin selling Eee PC’s running Windows XP rather than the Xandros Linux variant this December.
Windows XP in December, Desktop Eee PC in 2008?
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Ok, but will they sell a windows cd to people who have already bought an eee pc?
Windows on SSD sucks
Windows on virtually any PC sucks
I hope that doesn’t mean they’ll up the price (to pay the windows key fee)
I hope that means they will up the price…
So people could start to understand that they could have something better for a lower price.
But sure, it’s always bad to pay the windows key fee !
Will they continue to ship with Xandros or are we about to see the price hiked up to accommodate the Microsoft costs and Xandros being bundled as an alternative for the user to install?
I don’t see anywhere on that article where it says they will stop shipping the Linux Variant? If so that would be really sad. The EeePC is a great launching pad towards getting Linux more accepted in the Desktop Market Place!
What would be the point of a desktop version of the eee?
The great thing about the PC710 is the combination of its small size and low price point — the achievement of which implies a certain set of compromises between price, performance and minaturization — but there is no compelling reason to make a desktop machine small. A desktop requires a very different set of compromises, and so should have a very different design — it need not (and should not) have an “eee-like” design.
A key part of the eee design is that the device can run with minimal hardware and very low power consumptiom, and this is largely made possible by the use of an operating system that is not bloated and not power-hungry — it’s Xandros that makes the eee possible. A desktop machine is a different proposition: it can have mains power, and this means that the design can have more storage (a conventional hard drive) and need not employ such frigal software — it may be a very different beast indeed.
That’s not really interesting, though; inexpensive desktops are commonplace. What’s special about the eee is that it slashes the price at which portable computing can be realized. I’m looking forward to a future eee that has a larger display and better battery life without compromising on the size or weight.
Maybe the desktop eee will be an all-in-one? That’d be pretty sweet.
The hardware of the 701 is ok, yes screen here, ram there, but it is doing a good job,
But the best part is the Linux on the top of it, making it shinning.
If only we could vote.
Honestly XP… for my big desktop or my other laptop maybe, but not on this one.
I totally don’t want a price hike to have windows… there isn’t a program I can think of that I’d need windows for that wouldn’t run like junk anyway.
If the desktop eee is mac mini like I think it could work. In the future though I was going to take my current 15.4″ laptop as a media center and have a normal desktop plus eee for mobile.
Going to sound weird but love the simple interface…
Would be nice to be able to go with a low power desktop unit that’s a simple as the eee..
Hooked up to a large screen or a TV the eee pc variant would make an excellent internet appliance for the elderly, or anyone who just wants email and web access without the hassles of dealing with Windows.
I can see this unit replacing a number of hand-me-down windows 98 and ME boxes that are still in use that I’m asked to maintain.
The Eee software package is one I’d be confident to place in front of anyone who just want basic PC usage,
I’d love to see the Eee with XP. It has been reported that the cost of XP for the Eee will only be around USD 20 so it will not be a significant factor in the overall price.
To me having Windows XP on this device doesn’t make sense at all. The current offering comes with all kinds of software preinstalled already. I heavily doubt that a Windows XP UI will have
- the same simple device oriented interface
- an equally rich amount of software ( You don’t expect that Microsoft Office will get bundled as well, do you?)
- Will have still the same price tag. It will be at least $20 more expensive. Given that the exceptional part of the Eee PC is its price making it 5-10% more expensive would simply make the Eee PC less appealing.
All that XP offers is a lock-in to Microsoft only non-standard applications, with far less security than Linux.
I have been using LINUX now almost fully for the past 4 years. Fedora, K12LTSP has it’s uses to bring older machines into current use, we used Novell SuSE -until they went into the MS deal that is only for 5 years then it leaves a user with no deal and Movell’s directions with Microsoft are not the “open directions” that we are taking this company, and we are using Ubuntu more and more – with and without LTSP parts. The only reason why I am sticking with Red Hat’s family is that Security Enhanced Linus or SELinux is built-in out of the box. For non-mission critical systems, then non-SELinux distros are ok.
These days, I just don’t see the need for Microsoft at all. We have a license still for Windows (retail) for every computer, and every employee out into the future (so we have bought and paid for the use of Microsoft IP, if that ever mattered at all), but we can strip down a machine, run what we only need to run, and with the Linux Terminal Server Project stuff all the old Machines that Microsoft wants us to throw away to upgrade then to XP, and even more machines would need to be tossed in the garbage to run Vista, well those machines run perfectly well as LTSP client machines.
Eee PC laptop. I am waiting for the Eee-Ubuntu version, that installs everything off the .iso CD that we need for drivers (note that I can’t figure out why, since use of the drivers are paid for in the Xandros install, why the same drivers can’t be used for an Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, GOS, or other distro install. It’s Linux, if the drivers are proprietary, we have paid for the use of those drivers when we buy the system with Xandros OS, so we can still use the same drivers freely with any other distro. An Eee-Ubuntu distro CD install would just look for those drivers or have you insert the Xandros Reinstall CD, to install the correct drivers… AND you are good to go.
Given this case, where we can freely use any of the proprietary (if any) drivers that Xandros OS installs (because we paid for them already), it should only take a few days for someone to build a Eee-Ubuntu Distro, that has the full support of Ubuntu as well (of course Ubuntu would have to agree to do this).
if done right, as a low power, tiny platform desktop computer….the EEE could be very awesome. Think solid state car pc, home theater pc, no space for a pc PC, kid’s pc (that they can’t screw up and has a ton of learning programs), portable desktop (care a 15″ LCD with you and cordless keyboard and mouse with small dongle), etc
I’m personally excited about the possibility of an inexpensive car pc (another market where it gets really expensive really quick) I can hook up a small LCD to it and put it on my dash to handle Navigation, music, video, and whatever else.
fun stuff
(oh yeah, Windows XP offered installed on the EEE is dumb, they need to offer Ubuntu (with no easy mode) on the EEE instead, screw the Windows nuts
Give the Linux nuts some lovin’ finally!!!)
I am running XP on the eeepc, and have to disagree with those against the OS. It works very well. I have 2gb’s free, I have OpenOffice 2.1, all new updates inc IE7, yahoo ad msn messenger. vlc, irfanview, anti-vir, and can run an extended desktop across the internal and 19″ lcd screen. Xandros was very good, but I wanted to try XP, so far…no problems at all, and opens up many used applications. Xandros was ok but can be improved on.
Why not? What do any of you who already have an Eee care if the price goes up even another $50 because of XP? It’s an *option* for people who *haven’t* bought. And Asus just knows they will gut the sales of *similar sized* units from Sony, et al. For the price of some of those other units, people could buy at least *two* Eees and have a spare for emergencies — and still *lots* of saved cash left over.
When will they announce the release of the 8GB version ?
Phil, Yes XP on the EEE works well, not great, but well, but I would have to say that Linux really shines on the EEE. It’s a smaller and more controlled installation that does not waist you resources (and on the EEE they are precious). Why bother to take an already slow processor and bog it down with a relatively slow OS, that forces you to keep applications that you will not use (Movie Maker, Outlook Express, IE etc.) on your minuscule hard drive. While yes creating your own custom installation of the Windows CD corrects SOME of this, it does not address all of Windows constraints.
I personally installed XP on mine so that I could play WoW on it (more as a joke then anything, but it works surprisingly well). But outside of joking with my friends about WoW on such a mini computer there is nothing that I could want to do on my EEE that requires the Windows bloat. What are you doing with your EEE that requires Windows?
Any news on the 10 inch version (expected release date in US and price point?)
cclinco, to answer some of the points, firstly, I am OS agnostic, I don’t care which I run, USABILITY is something that I put high in my list. many Xandros programs have been designed for a large screen and you find that OK buttons are usually somewhere off the screen. Joe Bloggs doesn’t want to learn all about Linux just to make the adjustments. I found with my EeePC a few irritating issues. First the Longman Dictionary reverted to totally chinese menus after updating, the above mentioned window size problem. The inability to use an extended desktop over an additional LCD at full resolution was a real pity. Switching to XP resolved this. I currently run the full blown Xandros Desktop4 at home and am very hapy with it. The ‘locked’ down version is OK, but ‘clunky’ compared to XP. I hope the use of XP AND Xandros willl be of benefit to ASUS sales and broaden the market, and hopefully lower the prices. I will certainly be buying a second one early next year, with a 10″ LCD and hopefully 8/16GB SSD. The concept is wonderful. A low cost SILENT ‘home’ PC with no fans and lower power consumption is ideal for those of us that don’t play games.
BTW, I got Apple X86 Darwin running on the EeePC too.
XP is not any slower in use for me. I don’t find it slower than Xandros. It is very stable too I haven’t had a crashed application, but on Xandros I did have to ‘kill’ some. I have NOT USED Nlite yet to make the OS even smaller, just deleted all the installation and update cabs from the windows directory, leaving 2GB’s free. But use which OS you feel comfortable with. Full Xandros has been the Linux choice for me at home for a couple of years now. XP I tend to use every day at work, so for me, the more suitable choice on the EeePC.
Phil – How did you handle the need with the Eee PC Flash Storage to have an OS File System that is doing wear leveling? I didn’t think that XP would allow you any other file system but, Fat, Fat32, and NTFS (all 3 not friendly I thought to a SSD and it’s wear leveling needs). With Linux you can just not have a SWAP partition (but with Windows this I thought not to be possible). What about the wear leveling File System on the Eee PC and Windows? Are you worried about excessive wear of the Flash with the XP file system choices?
I think the wear leveling is not as big a deal as its made out to be. These cards are at millions of writes and only getting better as the technology improves.
With regards to whether I am going to do Windows XP, at this point I really so absolutely no need. The Eee just rocks with Linux. Not only is it such a similar experience to Windows, but everything works as I expect it to. Everything is quite familiar and easy to get through. Even my Verizon USB720 broadband modem installed NO PROBLEM, and it didn’t even need drivers! I can’t believe it installed more easily than it did on Windows which required me to jump through hoops. I might be the first Linux conversion here….. uh oh, I am about to drink the Linux cool-aid?!?!
Windows has many hops of driver installs and updates and reboots to get everything working. Linux is easier to run on “supported” hardware than Windows. Most distros I’ve tried have instant support for the Aureal Vortex 1 sound card in a system I have. I have yet to come up with a working set of drivers for Windows. I looked for a while, got bored and just slapped Linux back on it — everything works. I just use the Restricted Driers Manager (Ubuntu-based OS) to enable the accelerated video and it’s golden. A single driver update on a 7 year old system and it was one that isn’t even needed to run the system. Linux rocks!
Totally agree with Phil I am running XP on my Asus eee and it’s great. Cclino asked question what can I do that I can’t do with linux. Well I can plug in my 3g USB wireless modem and have anyway internet for a start. I know XP well so don’t have to learn new apps. Linux is great but XP is easy!
Personally, I never thought that XP, or any Microsoft product that was so vulnerable to viruses, was “great”? So, what are you running for an email client, Outlook (if so, then you are really not aware of what a problem you are getting into).
And, MS keeps changing formats all the time, so that they can maintain their monopoly position over anyone else. So, I will not ever use MS Office at all, but I will use OpenOffice.org… and I would hope that if you are using any MS OS that you choose to go and get OpenOffice.org as well (if you gotta run a MS OS, and all the hassles it has, that it…).
We do run MS OS, but never on the internet. It is ok, once you can run it off the internet for some application that is not available in Linux yet.
I really hope we won’t have to pay the MS tax on the next version with the extended screen. I will be buying one of these as soon as the ugly speakers are removed from the side of the too small screen. This thing is great otherwise!
All I’m waiting for that doesn’t exist yet is a price drop back to where the eee PC was when I got excited about it.
Michael – This price reduction might happen. But, as you know the OLPC costs have gone up just about the same as the costs for the Eee PC.
Metal cost money to take out of the ground (prices change according to supply and demand). Yes, the price could go down, but the energy cost to take the metal out of the ground needs to drop for this to happen. To take the pressure off of fossil fuel, we need massive solar projects such as the sterling engine solar project to be mass produced, and plug-in Hybred Electric Vehicles PHEV to be widely used, and this will leave a glut of oil, and machines that need this to run, will find that because the supply of this fuel is larger that the price of the fuel will be less.
Until then, energy costs for this fuel will increase with the increasing world-wide demand (China is just *starting* to use this fuel too), as fuel prices increase, the costs of things like OLPC and Eee PC will increase.
@ Groklaw,
What makes you think that a “wear-leveling mechanism” isn’t included in the controller that makes the standard Flash modules communicate over SATA (PS, I would be more upset that it is using SATA, I think PATA uses less power for transmission/encoding.)
Secondly, even if your point is valid (I still don’t hold it as the last word), what is wrong with wearing it out? Is 4GB of Flash suddenly so expensive? It can be replaced using the onboard Express Mini-Card, or even the soldered-in modules could be replaced.
Yes, XP can be run without a swap file, and I hear the EEEpc can take 2GB modules, so just run it with no swap, problem solved.
PS, “Embedded XP” is just a service and a DLL called the “Enhanced Write Filter”, if I gave a rat’s ass (amount of ass giving still undetermined) I would install that.
To all the nay-sayers of XP, I have tried several times to switch to Linux, every time I have run into nothing but problems, and a dual-boot eventually gave way to XP.
I do like the new feature on ASUS motherboards: built-in Firefox onboard that you can use instead of loading an external OS, 90% of my PC usage is Firefox anyway.
Viva la XP (PS, MS is just including XP because they know people would be using pirated copies, nobody is likely to pony up $150+ for a $200-400 lappy, so selling it cheap is a way to keep a finger on the money, as well as making sure they are installed on all PC’s)
@ Miles,
You clearly need to buy an eee system, it works great as is. You shouldn’t be afraid, just try it. You don’t really need Windows on an eee, it’s not like you buy an eee for playing games. So I would recommend you trying the system and then tell me it’s just trouble.
I’m a first time Linux user, and the eee works very well for me. But then I’m not afraid of stuff that isn’t Windows.
Look Manatlan.. If you want a full size laptop and care to suck up to Windows, go ahead. You have missed the point of this computer and operating system.
Many of us want a small computer, a responsive operating system free from MS, reasonable mobile internet access, etc.
If you dont, go buy yourself a gamers laptop, and go play with it.
It’s less about “Linux is better on the EEE than Windows” and entirely about the fact that Linux just plain owns…screw Xandros…I haven’t tried it but I can still say that btw…a fully working Gutsy is all you need on this thing…and you can have it sync up over the internet with your Gutsy box at home
Beyond the fact that it does everything you’d want for the most part somehow without *too* much effort.
I just can’t find any good in windows, sorry…after using and repairing it for all these years, it just doesn’t make any sense to me (not it’s operation, read deeper) To have to protect your self from harmful things, on your own, and pay people to remove it all when it’s gotten in there, and all the pain and suffering involved in repairing a windows box…and all the things that pop up demanding your attention and things done in the background that you have no say over, and the issues that you run into where it’s like WTF? this shouldn’t even be an issue!!!……all and all….it’s just a horrid experience…
I guess if you don’t have the joy of having to repair windows systems that have been broken while people were using them, then you don’t truly understand the extent of how awful it all really is…and you can say “well certain people will mess it up more then others and I’ve been using mine for a year (or more) with no issues and all that rubbish…but it shouldn’t matter who uses it, some things just shouldn’t happen…
P.S. Don’t even get me started on how stupid their Licensing laws are…wow
my bracket thing was removed on send….the above turned into a rant, have fun :-/
Thank you Larrys
That’s exactly it, granted I did find a good 12″ laptop finally, I’d still be stuck with a $200 or so Windows license that I didn’t want or need and linux laptops seem to be more expensive in general…so this ended up being perfect
I’ve been following threads on this site for weeks, and what I don’t get is why people who install XP have to apologize for doing so. We get comments like, “installing XP is dumb,” or, “You don’t need Windows on the Eee,” and similar comments. I’m beginning to feel like I teleported into a Mac forum.
I don’t have a “favorite” OS, and run seven computers at home with a multitude of OSes on them. The bottom line is that each system runs the OS that is best suited for the task I’ve assigned to that system. Thus my public web/ftp server runs Linux, my file servers run Vista (my large RAIDs use the GPT file system), my workstation runs XP, and all work the way I want. I’ve decided that the best OS on the Eee FOR ME is XP.
No one is in a position to say to someone else here that they “shouldn’t need” XP, or that “Xandros does everything you’d want on the Eee.” How can anyone know what I want? How can they know that Xandros does everything I need. It may do everything YOU need, and maybe you might infer that a noob would be happy with all that it does, but my needs are complex.
As it turns out I played with the Xandros setup for awhile, then installed XP on my Eee. Why? Because I want my Eee to be easy to use FOR ME, and that means I have to be able to open all my data files without conversion or export. So my ancient contact manager (not Outlook, btw) gets installed on the Eee and I can just copy the data files. I can run Quicken on here without converting or exporting. I can use some of my tools without having to relearn all the tricks I’ve learned over the years. I also have a full drive encryption program I trust that I can use to safeguard everything.
My point is this – stop trying to tell other people what they “should or shouldn’t†run on their Eee or any other system. If I am highly trained on Excel macros and OO doesn’t run them properly, why should I be made to feel bad for wanting Excel? If I know XP inside and out and don’t have the time to learn Linux,that’s my business. Feel free to smirk at me on your own, but keep your negative comments to yourselves. Saying that installing XP is “dumb†or “stupid†is implying that I am dumb and stupid, and as someone who has been in computers for 40 years and who cut his teeth on CP/M and administers Linux servers, I can tell you that I am neither.
My personal thoughts are that its your Eee, do as you please with it. No one should have anything bad to say about how you use your personal hardware/software. That being said, I am staying with the Linux distro on the unit. It handles all my needs. At first I was skeptical because I have a USB720 broadband modem, I have applications that I need to run, and other things, but aside from a few quirps the Linux machine handles it all nicely. The USB720 modem installed WITHOUT drivers, my applications run just fine and I have no need to install Windows XP. But for anyone else who wants to…. more power to ya. It’s all love among us geeks with our new toys.
Miles – Re: “what is wrong with wearing it out”?
Well for one, the Eee PC has that Flash soldered, as in “can not service it if broken” onto the motherboard of the unit. So, if this happens when your unit is out of warrantee… well, YOU ARE SOL.
So – you had better look before you leap. Note – that some device makers are putting in Flash that is cheaper and that does not have “wear leveling or ECC built-in”, so they are using the LINUX OS with a wear leveling file system to do it cheaper.
Do you know what Eee PC is doing with their Flash?
Anyone? Is the Eee PC Flash module that is soldered onto the MB, is it capable of wear leveling AND ECC as part of the device (like you can buy from SanDisk, Samsung and their SSDs these days). What is the Eee PC design, as it seems that ASUS is not publishing this important detail?
having not read anything but Mark’s first paragraph: initial thought:
Don’t apoligize, it’s your EEE, and it’s up to you to put on it what will allow you to use it most…it’s your choice and your opinion, if we don’t like it, all we can do is state our opinion…and use what we think is best for our purposes…granted both sides of this will have very opposing views that are forced on others, but it’s all in good opinionated fun
Personally, I’d probably be happy with the default OS installation.
But it leaves me with a question that I don’t know the answer to, but I’m sure those reading do:
With the Firefox version on the Eee, can I use the same extensions (Download Helper, for example) that I use with the XP version on my desktop?
M$ Windows XP, Linux, OSX I don’t care I run them all on diferent machines scattered about my house. But on this machine the fully optimised version of Xandros that a team of people worked on for a very long time works the best. It boots quicker, writes less to the drive, doesn’t grow bigger suports the hardware with the smallest drivers, and now the webcam works with Skype 2.0 beta. When the Pidgin Messenger team sort themselves out and suport video all my requirements are met. I’m not even annoyed by the big icons any more, I’m starting to like them, they make sense with a shakey mouse pointer on a moving train.
I bought the EEE to take in our motorhome and had to install XP so that our broadband card would work.
Had no idea that installing XP would cause us to lose all of the software that came with it, plus the camera, wi-fi, & sound.
Was this software proprietary to Linux? or did I do the installation wrong?
Please help a beginner.
When you install XP, you DO NOT lose access to Wifi, audio or the camera. You have to install the drivers from the DVD that comes with each EeePC. I have Webcam, Wifi, and sound. You do lose Linux specific applications. However it is possible to use Pidgin chat client, and many more free applications online to replace those ‘lost’.
If you read the manual there are very clear instructions on installing XP on the EeePC, and making it leaner and meaner. I have the above applications Office, Foxit PDF, Irfanview, Gimp, CCleaner, Firefox, IE7 and all updates, leaving 1.77Gb free on a 3Gb XP partition, with a 800Mb D: holding user documents, 256MB page file and temp internet cache. Total around 2Gb’s free space.
On a final note… these are comment areas. I will continue talks on this on the forums.
I think a desktop version would be interesting, however, so would a docking station for the EeePC with extra storage.
On the point of SSD wear…I can’t find anything definate on lifespan. I did look up the SSD chips and the data sheet, which talked about 100,000 operations…but I cannot believe ASUS would tell you how to install XP in the official manual IF the lifespan would be a couple of weeks usage! Should I worry ….LOL… I don’t know.
slktek1: which broadband card didn’t work for you specifically? I’d be interested in getting broadband cards working on the Eee PC.
Any news about the 8g ?
I betcha most of these broadband cards install just fine in the Linux distro the unit came with. Mine did, WITHOUT drivers needed. It’s really quite easy.
I had a windows XP desktop for five years, because I thought there was nothing better (all the linux versions I had tried didn’t work well with my pc). Now that I have an eee pc, my windows machine only comes on when I need to work with some software on it… love that 15 second boot time.
-Bucky24
Miles (and others), there has been talk about using the mini PCIe slot on the Eee PC to put Flash Storage on it. I just went looking for a Flash on miniPCIe and found none (I spoke with Samsung and Sandisk tech and they don’t have Flash on the mini PCIe footprint at all.
Does anyone know who does have a SSD on a mini PCIe Flash card (with wear leveling and ECC)?
“Furthermore, they will begin selling Eee PC’s running Windows XP rather than the Xandros Linux variant this December.”
I didnt get the same info out of the article that you did.
That is, it does not say they will exclude Linux, just that they may make XP available.
I would like to know for sure, because I would order NOW to avoid Windows.
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