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fluteflute
June 2nd, 2011, 02:53 PM
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/367768/asus-to-ship-ubuntu-netbooks

This is in partnership with Canonical in Europe. But according to the article they will come with 10.10 - that's a bit strange I think. (Unless this has just been planned for so long I suppose.)

Will they come with Unity? Will they be upgradeable to 11.04. Who knows?


We will ship more units this year than we ever have, even at the height of the netbook boom," Kenyon said. "We're on track to be well over 10m units preinstalled with Ubuntu this year.

Wow that's impressive.

Copper Bezel
June 2nd, 2011, 03:23 PM
You know that thing where your two favorite people are hooking up, and you're all happy for them, but at the same time you're really worried that if something goes wrong, your whole group is going to be screwed? Yeah.

But it makes sense for what they're doing. It's a better choice than MeeGo for a netbook.

YesWeCan
June 2nd, 2011, 03:30 PM
This is in partnership with Canonical in Europe. But according to the article they will come with 10.10 - that's a bit strange I think.
Not strange at all. Unreliable software is very expensive when customers are paying for a system. 10.10 is much less risky at this time.

jhonan
June 2nd, 2011, 03:46 PM
I think it's stranger they didn't go with 10.04, which is the LTS release, after all.

johnnybgoode83
June 2nd, 2011, 03:54 PM
I agree that it is strange they didn't go with the LTS release

YesWeCan
June 2nd, 2011, 03:59 PM
I suppose if ASUS is shipping 10 million units of 10.10 then 10.10 becomes an LTS release. ;)
I haven't tried 10.10. I use 10.04. I read that 10.10 is pretty stable.

SeijiSensei
June 2nd, 2011, 04:03 PM
All of these have Intel GMA graphics, not the excellent NVIDIA ION platform that powers my daughter's 1201N. At least they don't have Optimus (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1657660) video which NVIDIA apparently doesn't care to support with the same attention they've devoted to Linux in the past.

As a Kubuntu user, 10.10 is a considerable improvement over 10.04, while 11.04 has given me a variety of problems on my desktop. For Kubuntu, the combination of 10.10 and the backports (https://launchpad.net/~kubuntu-ppa/+archive/backports) repository to get the KDE 4.6 upgrades is the best KDE release yet.

You have to wonder though what this means for long-term support of the 10.10 release. If Canonical thinks it should be shipped with these machines, won't they need to support it for a while longer than usual? Right now, official support is scheduled to end in April of next year. I certainly expect to be running 10.10 for a lot longer than that.

Dragonbite
June 2nd, 2011, 04:25 PM
This is good news.
- more exposure
- more availability

I wouldn't mind picking up an Asus w/Ubuntu pre-installed. Heck, I wouldn't mind picking up just about anything at this point but that's beside the point.

JDShu
June 2nd, 2011, 05:39 PM
I've found 10.10 to be more stable than 10.04.

The way Canonical does LTS releases is rather flawed imo.

eltonw
June 2nd, 2011, 06:32 PM
When I purchased my Asus EEE 1000 PC about 3 years ago, it was shipped with XP and Xandros (the latter preinstalled, since I did NOT want a Windows machine). Very shortly faterwards, Asus dumped linux, concentrating on shipping their netbooks with newer versions of Windows.

Now Asus has jumped back on the Open Source bandwagon, and they are shipping machines with linux again?:???:


A word to the wise:
CAVEAT EMPTOR.

el_koraco
June 2nd, 2011, 06:32 PM
10.10 is the best Ubuntu release. Period.

Copper Bezel
June 2nd, 2011, 08:04 PM
Absolutely, for the moment. I really hope it does mean an extended support period - it would almost have to, since they'd still be shipping in April.

In my highly subjective opinion, Asus is also the nicest netbook manufacturer and Ubuntu has the best netbook OS, so this is somewhat validating. = ) (And a real distro that exists for its own reasons is certainly better than that Xandros silliness.)

And hey, Fluendo pack pre-installed. Actually useful software in an OEM. Whoda'?

el_koraco
June 2nd, 2011, 08:16 PM
which would all us Luddites could go on using our tricked out beasts even longer than we thought.

Dragonbite
June 2nd, 2011, 08:36 PM
If these vendors centralize on one particular Linux distribution (Ubuntu has the best chances currently) that will help alleviate the arguments of "too many Linux distributions to choose from" even if artificially.

Copper Bezel
June 3rd, 2011, 01:04 AM
@ el_koraco - Quite! But I thought you were doing the Elementary thing. I mean, starting from a Jupiter install?

el_koraco
June 3rd, 2011, 01:08 AM
Well, yeah, but Jupiter is a stripped down Maverick with a PPA.

MonolithImmortal
June 3rd, 2011, 04:56 AM
I just had a minor panic attack when I read that they were selling netbooks with Mavrick. For the love of all that is good please don't let it be the 10.10 UNE, with that F.U.B.A.R. version of unity.

handy
June 3rd, 2011, 05:21 AM
Certainly good news for Canonical. They need Ubuntu to be seen & used by more people.

NCLI
June 3rd, 2011, 12:44 PM
Will this go well, or will it fizzle out like the cooperation with Dell? Discuss below :)


LONDON, June 2nd, 2011: Canonical, the sponsor of the Ubuntu project, today announces that Ubuntu is now available pre-loaded on the new ASUS Eee PC series. The Eee PC, has a slim, lightweight, compact design with stunning graphics and sound quality. With up to nine hours’ battery life it is it suitable for work, play or study. The Eee PC now ships with Ubuntu operating system, making it one of the most user-friendly PCs on the market.

The Eee PC with Ubuntu is ideal for consumers and businesses; the hardware is sleek and lightweight and energy efficient while Ubuntu is safe, intuitive and stable. Ubuntu includes a complete office suite making it easy to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations and share them with Microsoft Windows users. A full, rich Internet experience is available with Mozilla Firefox and Adobe Flash pre-installed.

Chris Kenyon, VP OEM Services at Canonical comments, “Many businesses are turning to Ubuntu as they look for a cost-effective, proven, and easy to use and manage operating system that can be delivered on business-quality laptops. We expect the slim form factor and great design of Eee PC, combined with the great performance delivered with Ubuntu, to produce a real performer in the marketplace.”

Stanley Chang, Product Director at ASUS said, “Since its creation, the ASUS Eee PC has provided, and continues to provide the best cloud computing experience to users, while Ubuntu is an open source OS renowned for its customizability and stability. To fulfil the various needs of a diverse market and user base, the strategic alliance with Ubuntu is absolutely a win-win cooperation.”

Availability
The three ASUS Eee PC models, 1001PXD, 1011PX and 1015PX, is available with Ubuntu 10.10 pre-installed from June 1st 2011 through ASUS sales channels. Many more models will be made available throughout the year.

-End-
Source (http://www.canonical.com/content/asus-new-eee-pc-now-available-ubuntu-operating-system)

lucazade
June 3rd, 2011, 12:53 PM
Will this go well, or will it fizzle out like the cooperation with Dell? Discuss below :)

Dell Mini 1010 with Intel Gma500 and shipped with Ubuntu has been officially supported up to Hardy Heron.
The support from => Intrepid has been all in the hands of the community, with giant efforts.

I hope to not see anything like this for these new netbooks...

fatality_uk
June 3rd, 2011, 01:25 PM
As the saying goes, timing is everything. Now it makes sense!
The user experience has changed dramatically since Dell and Canonical first got into bed together.

Now users are used to Linux (Android) and the idea seems to have been broken that to work/play you need a Microsoft product is coming to the fore.

With the introduction of tablets, especially with Android, users are getting to understand that you don't need Windows for a mobile faux desktop experience.

NCLI
June 3rd, 2011, 01:37 PM
As the saying goes, timing is everything. Now it makes sense!
The user experience has changed dramatically since Dell and Canonical first got into bed together.

Now users are used to Linux (Android) and the idea seems to have been broken that to work/play you need a Microsoft product is coming to the fore.

With the introduction of tablets, especially with Android, users are getting to understand that you don't need Windows for a mobile faux desktop experience.

I must say that I would have waited for 12.04, but I guess Canonical have their reasons.

At least they didn't decide to ship with 11.04. I'm just afraid that the upgrade path is going to be rough for the people who buy these with 10.10. Unless Canonical makes some kind of exception for them, they'll have to go through 11.04 and 11.10, before reaching the next LTS.

lz1dsb
June 3rd, 2011, 03:12 PM
I read this today on the Canonical's website, but why they say that Asus Eee PC is certified as pre-installed only. And there's a warning that a standard Ubuntu image might not work at all or with some limitations. To my understanding this means that there's some kind of special image for those Asus netbooks. So what would happen than if I need to reinstall or upgrade? Where should I get the image from?
Just a thought.
Otherwise I think it's great to hear such news. I hope that this gains momentum.
In Eastern Europe though I don't see too many retailers selling laptops and netbooks with pre-installed Linux, or Ubuntu. Which to me seems strange as this normally takes off the price something like 100 Euros...:confused:

uRock
June 3rd, 2011, 03:42 PM
Threads merged.

Dragonbite
June 3rd, 2011, 03:56 PM
As the saying goes, timing is everything. Now it makes sense!
The user experience has changed dramatically since Dell and Canonical first got into bed together.

Now users are used to Linux (Android) and the idea seems to have been broken that to work/play you need a Microsoft product is coming to the fore.

With the introduction of tablets, especially with Android, users are getting to understand that you don't need Windows for a mobile faux desktop experience.

Agreed, and with the looks of it, Windows 8 for Tablets (& etc.) are following an interface similar to the Windows 7 Phone ("live tiles").

So now Windows 8, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, Gnome 3 and Unity are more similar than their traditional desktop brethren (Windows 7, Gnome Classic, KDE, OS X, etc.)

Lars Noodén
June 4th, 2011, 12:26 PM
Asus to ship Ubuntu netbooks (http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/enterprise/367768/asus-to-ship-ubuntu-netbooks), again. This is great news. Let's see if, unlike last time, they're allowed to continue.

overdrank
June 4th, 2011, 12:31 PM
Threads merged :)

t0p
June 4th, 2011, 01:34 PM
I still have an Asus EeePC 701 (the one with a 4 GB SSD) which I often take out with me. It's running the Lubuntu version of 10.10 and it works pretty well (I upgraded the RAM to 2 GB and I've got /home mounted on a 8 GB SD card).

When I first got the EeePC, it came with Xandros; and if I wasn't already a Linux user, I might have dumped the thing and got a Windows OS instead. Asus made a terrible mistake going with Xandros. Hopefully, netbooks with Ubuntu will make a better first impression.

But I wonder: are netbooks going to be popular for much longer? I got an Android phone, and now I take out the EeePC less frequently. If I take out the netbook it's usually because I think I'm going to do much typing (I hate the touch screen keyboard experience). The keyboard on the 701 is rather fiddly, but it's heaven compared with the phone.

Lars Noodén
June 4th, 2011, 04:55 PM
Putting the return rate myth to rest (http://www.osnews.com/story/21986/Dell_Linux_Netbook_High_Return_Rate_Non-Issue_)

"We are not seeing any technical reasons for why they are returning Linux machines so... we don't see a significant difference (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/12/dell_reality_linux_windows_netbooks/) between the return rate for Windows versus the rate for Linux. We've been quite pleased with the stability and technical soundness of the Linux machines."

The machines with (L)Ubuntu will make a very good impression.

Old_Grey_Wolf
June 4th, 2011, 09:31 PM
I think it's stranger they didn't go with 10.04, which is the LTS release, after all.

That is what makes me think Asus is going to have their on spin of Ubuntu like Dell did. My guess is that it will not be quite the same as the Ubuntu 10.10 you download from Canonical. I just hope Asus keeps their re-spin of Ubuntu updated.

I would go with an LTS myself; however, I don't work for Asus. I would want to delay the upgrade path problems as long as possible. Although, they may be looking at the fact that 10.10 is supported until April 2012, and the next LTS will be released in April 2012 (Ubuntu 12.04). Maybe they have a plan we just don't know about.

Asus could tell their customers they are offering a new UI in April 2012 (Ubuntu 12.04), and ask XX amount of money for the upgrade USB.

uRock
June 4th, 2011, 09:55 PM
That is what makes me think Asus is going to have their on spin of Ubuntu like Dell did. My guess is that it will not be quite the same as the Ubuntu 10.10 you download from Canonical. I just hope Asus keeps their re-spin of Ubuntu updated.

Correct, the three listed in this link with (Pre-installed only) have a custom image. http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/make/Asus
Please note that for pre-installed systems:

1. The system is available in some regions with a special image of Ubuntu pre-installed by the manufacturer. It takes advantage of the hardware features for this system and may include additional software. You should check when buying the system whether this is an option.
2. Standard images of Ubuntu may not work at all on the system or may not work well, though Canonical and computer manufacturers will try to certify the system with future standard releases of Ubuntu.

beew
June 4th, 2011, 10:11 PM
So if the netbook works with a preinstalled custom image it still may not work if you try to install a "normal" one or update to a newer version of Ubuntu by downloading an iso from Canonical? So if I buy such a netbook I would still need to do the research for compatibility like I would if I buy one with Windows preinstalled? This sounds very locked in.

Old_Grey_Wolf
June 4th, 2011, 10:24 PM
I still have an Asus EeePC 701 (the one with a 4 GB SSD) which I often take out with me. It's running the Lubuntu version of 10.10 and it works pretty well (I upgraded the RAM to 2 GB and I've got /home mounted on a 8 GB SD card).

When I first got the EeePC, it came with Xandros; and if I wasn't already a Linux user, I might have dumped the thing and got a Windows OS instead. Asus made a terrible mistake going with Xandros. Hopefully, netbooks with Ubuntu will make a better first impression.

But I wonder: are netbooks going to be popular for much longer? I got an Android phone, and now I take out the EeePC less frequently. If I take out the netbook it's usually because I think I'm going to do much typing (I hate the touch screen keyboard experience). The keyboard on the 701 is rather fiddly, but it's heaven compared with the phone.

Sorry for the long post :)

My wife got the Asus EeePC 701 with Windows XP. She used it for quite some time until XP SP2 come out and it wouldn't upgrade to SP2 because the 4 GB SSD wasn't big enough. She eventually told me she hadn't used it in months. I told her I could try running Ubuntu Netbook Remix on it. She said, OK, do it as she wasn't using it anyway. So I installed Ubuntu Netbook Remix and she used it for quite a while until she ran out of space on the SSD again. Same as you, I moved the /home to an SD card. That made her happy again. However, she finally decided she needed something more useful than a netbook for real business work. She bought a light weight Lenovo Laptop. Every time I had to work with the small EeePC 701 display, keyboard, and touchpad, I hated it.

I wonder myself just how long the Netbook will be useful. Smart phones and tablets provide that kind of easy access to email, web, reading documents, etc.

Notebooks are becoming small laptops. They are starting to fill the need when more processing power, better keyboard, larger display, etc., are needed that are not provided by Netbooks, tablets, and smart phones. And, they are quite portable. I am very happy with mine. I got tied of carrying my heavy laptop with me on trips, plus all the space it used in my luggage. I finely decided to buy a notebook. It has worked out very well for me. It dual boots Windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.04. Sadly, some hotel networks just don't work with Linux. I encountered one Hotel that required IE to login when using Windows and after you logged in using IE then you could use Firefox. Hotel staff have no idea how their network is setup either.

It is only by looking at specs these days that I can tell the difference between the so-called smart phone, netbook, tablet, notebook, and laptop. I don't know if there is a clear definition as to what each of them really are. I think a lot of the distinction is just marketing nonsense. To make the distinction more difficult, there are the "Transformers" coming out that morph a smart phone or tablet into a Notebook.

I am an older person. I like to have a descent phone, notebook for travel, laptop for mobility around the house, some sort of GPS navigation device or application, and desktop for stuff like remotely maintaining all the computers on my network, experimenting with virtualization, cloud computing, and running various servers (Samba, DNS, LAMP stacks for Wiki and Forum, Mail, etc.).

Copper Bezel
June 4th, 2011, 11:17 PM
Well, I don't much care what it's called, either, and the average netbook is closer to what's called a "sub-notebook" than it is to that godawful 700 line. As long as my kit is under a kilogram, fits into a sleeve meant for notebook paper, and works with a grown-up operating system and keyboard, I don't really care if it's called a subandjustabitovertotheleftofmininetdesktopbooklet .


Correct, the three listed in this link with (Pre-installed only) have a custom image.
Disappointing, but I suppose inevitable, since 10.10 didn't ship with support for hardware that hadn't been invented yet and 11.04 is apparently out of the question. I still worry that it means reducing the install to another fidgety toy OS like Xandros.

SoFl W
June 4th, 2011, 11:22 PM
I think it's stranger they didn't go with 10.04, which is the LTS release, after all.


That is what I was thinking. Too bad it seems to be only a UK offer.

Old_Grey_Wolf
June 4th, 2011, 11:29 PM
...I don't really care if it's called a subandjustabitovertotheleftofmininetdesktopbooklet ...

You might do well in the Marketing profession. Baffle the public with B***S*** and make it sound like something they must have in order to compel them to buy it.

:lolflag:

I wish that Asus would be offering Ubuntu, or any other quality Linux distro on Netbooks, Notebooks, Laptops, or any of the other products they produce, no matter what they choose to call them.

fuduntu
June 6th, 2011, 03:05 PM
I wonder how it's being configured. When they created their Xandros distro for their Eee line, they had a lot of customized scripts for power management which we replaced with tools like Eee PC Utilities, and Eee Control for other distributions.

I wonder if they chose Jupiter or Eee Control, or wrote something completely new.

Copper Bezel
June 6th, 2011, 03:08 PM
If they're doing it properly, they don't need any of that. It's all in the ACPI (on 10.10.)

Drewvt
June 7th, 2011, 12:46 AM
All of these have Intel GMA graphics, not the excellent NVIDIA ION platform that powers my daughter's 1201N. At least they don't have Optimus (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1657660) video which NVIDIA apparently doesn't care to support with the same attention they've devoted to Linux in the past.

To be fair, all of the models in question have a 10-inch screen and 1024x600 resolution (the 1201N is 12 inch with 1366x768 pixels). I have always felt that it was overkill to put an Nvidia Ion into a 10-inch machine that can't even display a 720p video on the screen without scaling it down first. (Sure, in theory you could hook up a bigger screen to the netbook and enjoy genuine HD video that way, but that is not the primary function of a netbook). Apparently Asus has come around to the same view.

It's a lovely computer, that 1201N. Runs Ubuntu 10.10 really well.

klotz
June 20th, 2011, 06:53 AM
Any news on shipping this series in the US with Ubuntu pre-installed?

cwklinuxguy
June 28th, 2011, 07:19 AM
I believe I did miss something...is this ONLY in Europe for the time being? I first heard of it on the Linux Action Show, which I figured has most of it's viewers based in the US...and they never mentioned it not being available HERE.

But if so that would explain why I can't find ANYTHING on their US website about this.

Zerocool Djx
June 28th, 2011, 07:36 AM
I'd rather have a Ubuntu net-book then a windows 8

Khakilang
June 28th, 2011, 10:55 AM
It is good to hear of their come back to Linux. That mean they did not abandon Linux entirely. But I hope this time they will be better.

foxy123
September 8th, 2011, 05:32 PM
Any sign of this in teh UK? I am particularly looking for 1015PX
model. I know that you can get it with Win7 but I'd prefer to have it with Ubuntu pre-installed.

Linuxratty
September 8th, 2011, 05:57 PM
I've found 10.10 to be more stable than 10.04.

The way Canonical does LTS releases is rather flawed imo.

I'm quite happy with 10;10. If they were smart,they would support it for at least 4 years,maybe five.

Erik1984
September 8th, 2011, 06:55 PM
I believe I did miss something...is this ONLY in Europe for the time being? I first heard of it on the Linux Action Show, which I figured has most of it's viewers based in the US...and they never mentioned it not being available HERE.

But if so that would explain why I can't find ANYTHING on their US website about this.

Little sign of them in Europe as well. Lately I saw one of the models in an advertisement of a Belgian supermarket. So Asus will not communicate about these products on their site (you can find the models but not a single word about Ubuntu) but ships them for deals with a 3rd party, like in this case a supermarket. I don't live in Belgium so I couldn't check.

LeoShodan2005
September 8th, 2011, 07:04 PM
I just looked through a series of web pages for the US; it looks like you guys get to play with the new systems while we're stuck with Windows 7. After installing 11.4 on my laptop (old ibm T43) and seeing how it responded - My feeling is, get rid of Windows and come on Ubuntu!

foxy123
September 8th, 2011, 08:01 PM
I sent an email to the Asus UK some time ago but never got an answer.

Lightstar
September 8th, 2011, 10:24 PM
We're talking about linux here.
I wouldn't be surprised if they fixed up an Asus user interface, I think it would be neat.

Think of expressgate, HP had one on their netbook and it looked awesome. Linux is customizable, ubuntu too.

I wont complain, I have unity running on my super old ASUS eeepc 701 4g. I enjoy it. Very easy to navigate and big icons for this tiny screen is a plus.

cariboo
September 8th, 2011, 10:46 PM
I'm quite happy with 10;10. If they were smart,they would support it for at least 4 years,maybe five.

How are they supposed to support something that is no longer developed after the support period has ended?

From what I've seen so far, is that anyone that has had a look at the Gnome 2.X code has run away screaming because of all the spaghetti code. There have been several people step up to the plate to try and fork Gnome 2, but so far they all have seemed to disappear into a black hole.

disabledaccount
September 8th, 2011, 11:48 PM
From what I've seen so far, is that anyone that has had a look at the Gnome 2.X code has run away screaming because of all the spaghetti code. There have been several people step up to the plate to try and fork Gnome 2, but so far they all have seemed to disappear into a black hole.Gnome2.x was indeed a mess, but it work(s/ed) very well. I'm still using it on my main desktop (launching other things in VM). Although I think that GTK3 was necessary, it doesn't explain appearing of Unity and Gnome shell - except the case that someone have seen win8 interface and wanted to "go with the flow". I've tried both unity and gnome shell and still it sucks to me - I think win8 will suck to most of windows users and they will "tune" windows to work as "expected". Unfortunately windows users have better position to do this (because switching from Gnome to Xfce or openbox is far more painfull in many aspects).

meh_phistopheles
September 9th, 2011, 02:09 AM
i own an asus netbook and i remember my wireless being a major pain to get working in 10.04. it worked from the get-go in 10.10. then, for whatever reason, it didn't work initially in 11.04, so i switched to fedora. i've since switched back to xubuntu 11.04 a few weeks ago and it's now working.

i don't know what the deal is with asus wireless and ubuntu, but it's really annoying.