Smaller OS more capabilities.

[joelkat]

I believe as windows is a huge OS and Linux is smaller but Linux has more capabilities? I believe so. And will Linux ever get to be released as it is a regular OS? Like Windows is pre-ready on a PC?

[kaldor]

I believe as windows is a huge OS and Linux is smaller but Linux has more capabilities? I believe so. And will Linux ever get to be released as it is a regular OS? Like Windows is pre-ready on a PC?

Dell already ships some (very few) Ubuntu preinstalled computers. Some niche companies exist too such as System76 and ZaReason.

[3Miro]

I believe as windows is a huge OS and Linux is smaller but Linux has more capabilities? I believe so. And will Linux ever get to be released as it is a regular OS? Like Windows is pre-ready on a PC?

Depends on how you define "larger" and "smaller". Ubuntu comes will more software than Windows, it is only smaller in the sense of fewer megabytes, but that has more to do with how it is coded than how much "useful" content there is.

As pointed out, Ubuntu comes pre-installed on many computers already, it is just that most people are not aware of Ubuntu and hence many manufacturers don't think there is a large enough demand.

[Megaptera]

Don't overlook Asus (Wikipedia)"The Asus Eee PC is a subnotebook/netbook computer line by Asus and a part of the Asus Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a light weight, Linux operating system, solid-state drive and relatively low cost. Newer models have added the option of Windows operating system and traditional hard disk drives.

The first Eee PC was a milestone in the personal computer business, launching the netbook category of small, low cost laptops. According to Asus, the name Eee derives from "the three Es," an abbreviation of its advertising slogan for the device: "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play"

[jrusso2]

Don't overlook Asus (Wikipedia)"The Asus Eee PC is a subnotebook/netbook computer line by Asus and a part of the Asus Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a light weight, Linux operating system, solid-state drive and relatively low cost. Newer models have added the option of Windows operating system and traditional hard disk drives.

The first Eee PC was a milestone in the personal computer business, launching the netbook category of small, low cost laptops. According to Asus, the name Eee derives from "the three Es," an abbreviation of its advertising slogan for the device: "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play"

I thought that ASUS dropped the Linux version of their netbook?

[kaldor]

I thought that ASUS dropped the Linux version of their netbook?

Yes, because they thought that Linux was hopeless because people hated Xandros.

[JustinR]

I thought that ASUS dropped the Linux version of their netbook?

I think Microsoft made them - after they starting touting that Linux was better, like what Dell did.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/19698...ook_linux.html
But they might have come back since then.

[kaldor]

I think Microsoft made them - after they starting touting that Linux was better, like what Dell did.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/19698...ook_linux.html
But they might have come back since then.

Windows was a better choice over Xandros. Maybe they'd have had better luck if they used a real distro.

[mcduck]

Windows was a better choice over Xandros. Maybe they'd have had better luck if they used a real distro.

I'm not really sure about that, after having fixed a few netbooks that were originally designed for a small Linux setup and later transformed into Windows setups by marketing department..

The Acer One was a nice example, the hard drive being squeezed tightly next to the right speaker (as the model was originally designed for a small SSD), causing any loud sounds to vibrate the drive and eventually breaking the disk surface.

You could get the machine to crash completely simply by turning up the volume (which wasn't loud even at max) and playing certain songs or Youtube videos.

While the original Linux distribution the machine was designed for might have been a poor choice, modifying the setup to have enough space for Windows was pretty much a disaster. Luckily Acer's customer service was happy to replace the drive even when the guarantee had already ended, but they didn't solve the original problem so I had to just tell the machine's owner to keep the volume down or use headphones...

Anyway, I've never really understood why all the major manufacturer's decided to choose such awful distributions and/or custom interfaces. You'd think choosing something a bit more popular might have given a better user experience.

[sydbat]

...Xandros.

I just threw up a little.

A friend bought one of the first Asus EEE's. Got the Xandros version because they knew I used Linux exclusively. It was such a POS that they ended up asking me to "fix it". So I did...by putting UNR on it. Ran great with no complaints until the thing died.