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Linux Desktop to Appear On Every Asus Motherboard

Posted by timothy on Wed May 14, 2008 12:05 PM
from the positive-move dept.
Portables Linux Business Hardware
An anonymous reader writes "We first heard about Splashtop back in October, when the instant-on Linux desktop was announced. At the time it was a really exciting concept but Asus only rolled out the technology on high-end motherboards. Splashtop just announced that Asus will be expanding the desktop to the P5Q motherboard family and later on to all Asus motherboards. That's embedded Linux shipping over a million motherboards a month! The release also mentioned that the technology will be appearing on notebooks this year as well."
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Related Stories

[+] Linux: ASUS Motherboard Ships With Embedded Linux 216 comments
Michael writes "ASUSTek has introduced the P5E3 Deluxe motherboard, which in addition to using Intel's new X38 Chipset also features a soon-to-be-announced technology by DeviceVM. SplashTop is an instant-on Linux desktop environment that is embedded onto this motherboard. Within seconds of turning on the P5E3 Deluxe motherboard, you can boot into this Linux environment that currently features a Mozilla-based web browser and the Skype VoIP client. Browser and VoIP settings can be saved and there are plans for the device to provide new features and support via updates. At Phoronix is a review of this $360 motherboard embedded with Linux and a web browser."
Submission: Linux desktop to appear on every Asus motherboard by Anonymous Coward
[+] PC Makers Try To Pinch Seconds From Their Boot Times 399 comments
Some computers are never turned off, or at least rarely see any state less active than "standby," but others (for power savings or other reasons) need rebooting — daily, or even more often. The New York Times is running a short article which says that it's not just a few makers like Asus who are trying to take away some of the pain of waiting for computers, especially laptops, to boot up. While it's always been a minor annoyance to wait while a computer slowly grinds itself to readiness, "the agitation seems more intense than in the pre-Internet days," and manufacturers are actively trying to cut that wait down to a more bearable length. How bearable? A "very good system is one that boots in under 15 seconds," according to a Microsoft blog cited, and an HP source names an 18-month goal of 20-30 seconds.
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  • Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by neokushan (932374) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:07PM (#23405590)
    How many people "switch" to Linux every month? I mean, if anyone has such a statistic, I'd be interested in seeing just how much this figure could potentially impact that (I know, chances are 99% of the people using these motherboards will still boot windows, but satisfy my curiosity =P).

    • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:16PM (#23405756)
      1.17 million

    • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by flyingfsck (986395) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:16PM (#23405760)
      In total, about 300 million Linux devices are produced each year. About 1% of that are servers and desktops. A larger proportion are laptops. Asus alone, sells more than a million Eee PCs per quarter. Consequently Linux laptops outsell Apple by a wide margin.

      • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by neokushan (932374) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:22PM (#23405890)
        Interesting. So 300million linux devices per year, 1% of those are servers/desktops, that makes 3million a year, right?
        That's not as much as I thought it would be, these motherboards should certainly boost that figure.
        I wonder how long before Microsoft start shipping an embedded Windows version....

        • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by StarkRG (888216) <starkrg.gmail@com> on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:23PM (#23407112)

          I wonder how long before Microsoft start shipping an embedded Windows version....
          Probably as soon as they can get vista to fit in 1gb of flash memory, make it boot instantly, be cheap, and not be a POS...

          It's one thing to have your OS die and you've got to reboot. It's another if your motherboard dies and you've got to buy another.

          • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)

            by ozbird (127571) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @05:40PM (#23411096)

            I wonder how long before Microsoft start shipping an embedded Windows version....
            Probably as soon as they can get vista to fit in 1gb of flash memory, make it boot instantly, be cheap, and not be a POS...

            They'd probably push Embedded XP. They've already backflipped on XP availability for the Asus EeePC etc., which does nothing to improve the image of Vista. ("Look, our soon-to-be discontinued 2001 OS can compete with Linux in the 'ultra-low cost' computer market!")

            However, I think they've painted themselves into a corner. If they bully Asus into providing an embedded XP version of the motherboards, the customer is bound to ask: "I don't want Vista; why can't I run XP as the OS on the same motherboard?" The more features that can be crammed into the embedded Linux version, the sillier Microsoft's inevitable justifications will seem ("It's not really XP", "you can't do real work in an embedded environment" etc.)

          • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)

            by hairyfeet (841228) <bassbeast1968NO@SPAMgmail.com> on Wednesday May 14 2008, @03:52PM (#23409546)
            I don't know if it includes it,but I have found that "refurbing" old Windows boxes makes a great way to get reliable computers into the hands of those that don't have them. I often find working with SOHO shops that they have a couple of old machines they are getting ready to toss. Most are happy to donate them to me when i tell them I'll wipe the drive and put a free Linux on them and give them away to single mothers so their children have a way to work at home.


            I found that Puppy seems to be the best mix of size and usefulness,especially on former Win9X machines. I just think it is a shame how many functioning machines end up in the dumpster when they could be given a good home. Hell,my first gaming rig,which was a Pentium 100Mhz with a whopping 32Mb of RAM is still in use at a local lumbar company running DOS 3 as a ISA controller for an ancient lathe they have making custom columns. So the thought that folks will throw out a good running computer still just strikes me a wasteful to the extreme. But that is my 02c,YMMV.


            Oh,and as a disclaimer-I have actually thrown out a running machine in the past. I had a girl bring in her old computer to see if I could upgrade it for her in class. This poor girl had actually been doing her schoolwork on a 30Mhz with 12Mb of Simm RAM running Win 3.11. I took one look at that ancient thing and told her to leave it and I'd see what I could do. When the girl left the teacher asked "you aren't actually going to try to UPGRADE that thing,are you?" I told him HELL no! And when she showed up the next day I presented her with a 550Mhz that one of my SOHO clients had donated. Last I heard her kid was still doing his reports on his "new" machine,just as happy as a clam. I tried for a week to find a use for that 30Mhz,but damned if I could find a use for it.

      • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Ageing Metalhead (586837) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:33PM (#23406116)
        You got to realise that almost all TV STBs are now using Linux, the only exceptions are the one's running MS Mediaroom (al la U-Verse). So I would suggest that it would be more than 300 million per year. AM

      • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by harlows_monkeys (106428) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @09:39PM (#23413318) Homepage

        Asus alone, sells more than a million Eee PCs per quarter.

        Huh? Asus reported 350k the last quarter of 2007, and 700k for first quarter 2008. They project 1.2 million for second quarter. However, a majority of that will be the models that come with Windows.

        Consequently Linux laptops outsell Apple by a wide margin

        Not even close. Apple sold 1.4 million laptops first quarter. Asus's 700k plus the rest of the Linux laptop vendors don't come anywhere near that.

    • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by sm62704 (957197) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:25PM (#23405934) Journal
      There is absolutely no way of knowing. I know that last year I installed Mandriva on 5 computer newbie machines from the CD I downloaded. So if you're counting distro downloads, that metric is not reliable; one download can and probabally usually is more than one installation.

      Many people have their user-agent say they're using IE on Windows even if they're using Linux, bacsue dimwits still code their pages to not display if you're not using IE ("please upgrade to a modern browser? It's Opera's latest!") So web site metrics can't be reliable either.

      IINM it was Mark Twain (Samuel Clemons) who said "there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and ststistics."

    • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by PC and Sony Fanboy (1248258) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:38PM (#23406230) Journal
      I switch to linux every month or so.
      But I get fed up.
      Then I promptly switch back to whatever OS I feel like installing.
      Then I get fed up again.
      And I think 'Oh, someone on slashdot said that this is the time to switch to linux! I should try it AGAIN!'...
      then I switch to linux.
      Until I get fed up...

      • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Funny)

        by fwarren (579763) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:10PM (#23406880) Homepage
        Here let me fix that for you

        I switch to Widnows every month or so.
        But I get fed up.
        Then I promptly switch back to whatever Linux I feel like installing.
        Then I get fed up again.
        And I think 'All the marketing says that Windows is better than Linux! I should try it AGAIN!'...
        then I switch to Windows.
        Until I get fed up...

    • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by abolitiontheory (1138999) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:43PM (#23406340)
      This would be interesting to know in terms of other statistics, such as how many new computer users are there every month. If people are "switching" to Linux but that number is outweighed by the number of uninformed new users just picking up a Windows machine, then its just noise.

      The fact is it still takes a very informed choice to switch to Linux. This type of thing could go a long way towards solving that ("what, an operating system already onboard?!"), but at the same time this is only one manufacturer and its the kind of thing only people building their own PCs are going to see, anyway.

      The general market still has so much to learn about other options besides Windows. Mac is gaining popularity because of cool-factor and crossover conversions, none of which Linux has. Honestly, it won't be until you can fool someone into using Linux before they figure out its not Windows that you will see a change in general market trends. Either that or some unforeseen landmark change in the computer landscape is going to have to take place.

      In this regard, the comparison between open source solutions and alternative energy options makes sense here, except that the open source industry has had _superior_, WORKING solutions for the past decade, and the alternative energies industry hasn't. Its kind of like people choosing to stick with their internal combustion engine technology and refusing to try out a hydrogen car because "no body else does." But really, its because there's been no mass awakening to it, and unlike the energy crisis, there isn't likely to be unless someone brings it about.

      Still, this is the extreme value of Linux to me: it's portability. Not *mobility*--we'll have to wait for Andriod for that--but its ability to fit on almost any system in any way. Scaleability and flexibility also apply here. I'd love to have a trusted operating system living at the hardware level of my comptuter. It seems to make sense in a way, even: the logical extension of CMOS in a way. Honestly, you're telling me motherboard hardware has improved for the past 10-15 years but we still have no better built in soft/firmware?

      I'm doing more brainstoming than actual technical analysis here, but these are the kinds of things that get me excited like that: speculating, hypothesizing, dreaming about a more open and inherently good future.

      Technorant, out.

      • Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:15PM (#23406972)
        why must someone be "uninformed" to use Windows.

        Maybe instead they are informed of what software they wish to use, what OS it operates well with, and thus make a VERY INFORMED decision to not use an OS that would require substantial work to use with their software of choice.

        Just because someone doesn't use Linux, doesn't mean they are stupid.
        And with this type of prevelant attitude among Linux user's, you can bet that they will remain a very small minority.

        The true competition to Windows isn't linux, not on the desktop. It's Apple, and will be becuase Linux lacks quite a few things that everyday people require.

  • Huh. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SatanicPuppy (611928) * <Satanicpuppy@nOSPaM.gmail.com> on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:09PM (#23405626) Journal
    I always bought Asus anyway; they make good boards, and the few times I've had problems they've replaced them...Once I even got a free upgrade because they'd discontinued the board I had.

    So it's not going to change my purchasing, but it's still nice.

    • Re:Huh. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Znork (31774) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:30PM (#23406066)
      they make good boards

      I have to agree. I've made some forays into MSI (a relationship that was abruptly and permanently terminated when I discovered I had to have XP to upgrade the BIOS), EPoX and AOpen.

      But after that MSI foray I'll be sticking to ASUS for the foreseeable future; I have yet to purchase an ASUS board that I haven't been perfectly happy with throughout its lifecycle (well, I had one or two die of the bad capacitor issue a few years ago, but that was only 30% of my ASUS boards while 100% of the other branded boards died from it).

        • Re:Huh. (Score:5, Interesting)

          by multipart/mixed (163409) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @02:01PM (#23407774)
          He said "a few years ago"

          I'm assuming it was those specific few years ago when a Taiwanese capacitor company was selling bad caps. These caps had electrolyte in them made with a formula stolen from a Japanese company. Said Japanese company, though, was wise to the industry pirates and slipped them a time bomb.

          Those caps made it in *everywhere* -- or so it seemed. And is actually probably why it's so much easier to find Slot 1 and Socket 370 CPUs than it is to find boards to put 'em in.

          Oh, look, here's a nice wikipedia article about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague [wikipedia.org]

  • In other news... (Score:5, Funny)

    by erroneus (253617) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:10PM (#23405636) Homepage
    ...ACME brick has set up a lucrative partnership with Microsoft. As it turns out, Microsoft brick-shitting production has been increasing over the past few years and their surpluses have been able to yield a sustainable production rate. Microsoft has been unavailable for comment on their deal with ACME brick, but an ACME spokesman has been noted as having quested that Microsoft boost its dietary fiber intake in order to boost the quality of their new product.

  • Year of the Linux of Desktop (Score:5, Funny)

    by ehaggis (879721) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:12PM (#23405682) Homepage Journal
    Maybe Duke Nukem Forever will also be included.
      • > This will not happen until the Linux Kernel has native support
        > for an install mechanism...

        By writing this you reveal yourself to be clueless. The kernel would never do anything so complex, that is what userspace is for. But anyway, assuming you really mean a Linux distro....

        > ..where by I can double click on a single file and have it install a
        > whole program including notifying and automatically installing
        > programs it is dependent upon.

        And just where have you been the last five years? Most RH/RPM based distros will do just that. Click on an RPM package and it will ask if you want to install it. But nobody smart does it like that. At most you would use the click to install bit to install a REPO and then just use the same package manager you use to install the distro supplied packages.

        Why limit yourself to the old painful way Microsoft and Apple do things when technology is being innovated over here in Linux/UNIX land? What could be more convienent than adding a repository once and then making that 3rd party software collection a seamless part of the system. You get automatic notifications through the update widget, exactly the same as if it were included from the original OS vendor.
          • > but what if I want Apache on my installation and they don't offer it?

            Bad example since they all do include Apache, but I get your point. Ok, here is how it works. Lets take Fedora since I was talking about RPM based systems and I don't know nearly as much about Debian based ones.

            Fedora is based in the USA and sponsored by Red Hat, Inc. so they can't include certain radioactive bits that almost everyone wants, like mp3 support. So you just hop over to rpm.livna.org and click on the link for your version of Fedora. It serves you up an RPM package for their repository and the browser does the right thing. Up pops a dialog box asking if you want to install the package and if you say yes it prompts for the root (administrator for you Windows folk following along) password. Once that one small package is installed all of the software maintained by Livna (safely outside the USA) is a part of your system.

            But nothing much has actually happened yet. Next you launch the same package manager you use to add/remove OS components and you find that a lot of new things have appeared. And when Livna updates a package it appears in the list of packages that need to be updated right along with the ones Fedora updates.

            Contrast with the Windows/Mac world. Each 3rd party application, game, utility, etc. has to have it's own mechanism to find out if it has been updated, code to bug you to update, etc.

            The best comparison would be to imagine a world where Microsoft made Windows Update an open platform that everyone could use. So that one unlucky morning you booted up and the Windows Update gadget in the toolbar announced you had a critical update to IE, a couple of random Windows bug fixes, bug fixs from Adobe for Photoshop and Flash Player and a new version of your fav utility that displays your hard drive temp was available. Grr. there goes an hour and a couple of reboots. :)

            And it all 'Just Worked.' You don't have an OS and a motley collection of 3rd party apps, you have a seamless System.

      • Re:Year of the Linux of Desktop (Score:5, Funny)

        by Zero__Kelvin (151819) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:47PM (#23406426) Homepage

        "Maybe Duke Nukem Forever will also be included."

        "This will not happen until the Linux Kernel has native support for an install mechanism where by I can double click on a single file and have it install a whole program including notifying and automatically installing programs it is dependent upon."
        I don't see why everyone is calling you clueless. You are dead on the money. Duke Nukem Forever and putting things that clearly do not belong in a kernel in the Linux kernel will happen right around the same time. When penguins migrate to Hell for the cooler climate.

          • Re:Year of the Linux of Desktop (Score:5, Informative)

            by L Boom (1274024) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:37PM (#23407360)
            I don't think they're misunderstanding, they just disagree. I'll put it this way: I just switched to Linux this past January and I'm extremely happy with it. With the exception of the wireless in my laptop (Broadcom), it was incredibly easy to get Ubuntu (and a few other distros I was messing around with) up and running, and be able to play around with it.

            I was completely illiterate with regard to command line stuff, but I've figured out a great deal along the way. Even when I first began, installing packages was probably the single easiest thing to do in the OS. Installing a package from Synaptic is ridiculously easy, and it grabs all the dependencies an application needs. Anyone with so little knowledge of how computers work that they can't figure out a package manager is someone who wouldn't be doing anything like installing their own programs in Windows, so that's really not a fair comparison.

  • Is it really that exciting? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by melonman (608440) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:16PM (#23405748) Journal
    Including an OS on the motherboard makes sense for Asus - at least it is then possible to do basic hardware diagnostics independently of, say, Windows diagnostics.

    But, in terms of Linux adoption, it's only exciting if people keep linux once they've finished building the computer, and the precedents here are hardly promising.

    And, even if you like Linux (which I do), would you want to keep the version supplied with your m/b? On my first EeePC, I tried to get to like Xandros, I really did, but in the end I wiped it and installed Kubuntu. My Dark Side Brother played with Xandros until he broke it, and then installed XP. And it's going to happen even more with the EeePC 900, since the Linux version has a larger SSD than the Windows version (at least in the UK), so you buy the Linux version in order to install Windows.

    • Re:Is it really that exciting? (Score:4, Informative)

      by joggle (594025) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:31PM (#23406074) Homepage Journal
      I thought the way they're doing this is this is a minimal Linux distro and is embedded in the motherboard. At boot, you would have the option of booting off your hard disk as usual or you could chose to boot off of the embedded OS if you just want to check your e-mail, talk on skype or browse the web. Seems pretty neat to me, especially considering it would boot in just a couple of seconds.

      • Re:Is it really that exciting? (Score:5, Informative)

        by Taibhsear (1286214) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:46PM (#23407528)
        This is how it is implemented. I have the P5E3 PREMIUM. The Linux boot is called Express Gate. It boots in about 5 seconds and gives the option to go into bios, the installed OS, or the express gate. You can use email, web browser, skype, and use flash drives (I believe this was first implemented to help update the bios more easily). Uses Splashtop desktop. Here's some quick info on it [computerhope.com].

    • Also (Score:5, Insightful)

      by dreamchaser (49529) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:36PM (#23406200) Homepage Journal
      Also, the vast majority of those 1 million motherboards per month are sold to OEM's who may or may not enable the Linux functionality on their finished product. How much do you want to bet that MS will quietly put pressure on said OEM's to disable it?

      ASUS has great overclocking options in their BIOS too...until OEM's get a hold of them and put their customer BIOS in place that leaves out all the good stuff. This will be the same.
    • > And, even if you like Linux (which I do), would you want to keep
      > the version supplied with your m/b?

      You would probably keep Splashtop because it is in flash, probably in a larger BIOS chip. It isn't intended to be your primary OS. ASUS fully expects 99% of these motherboards to end up with Vista on a normal hard drive before it is delivered to the end user.

      The right question is how many of those end users will try Splashtop and find it handy for quick excursions into the net. If that number is large Splashtop will prosper and begin to add more and more features. Five years from now will be interesting if that happens.

      • Re:Is it really that exciting? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Belial6 (794905) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:43PM (#23407464) Homepage
        The place where this will likely cause the biggest problem for MS is when Joe Sixpack has problems with their Windows install. Whether it is from a virus, malware, or just the natural degradation of Windows, eventually most people end up with some kind of problem on their Windows System. Right now, most of them take the system to someone to fix the problem, just live with what they know is a problem, or chuck the whole computer and buy a new one. With a Linux desktop installed in the BIOS, many will learn the key combination that lets them boot to Linux. They don't care what OS they are using. They just want to access their MySpace page. Once they have spent a year using Linux because it worked well enough to keep them from spending the money on repairs or replacement, the idea of using Linux will not seem so strange.

  • Still don't see the point of burning it into ROM (Score:5, Insightful)

    by iamacat (583406) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:18PM (#23405776)
    Why not just include an SD card reader on the motherboard and let OEMs/end users integrate a system of their choice? In their approach, the system is not getting any security fixes. Potentially, the built in browser can be owned by simply visiting a web site. There is no way to install even a single extra application. Sounds like this has more to do with marketing than technology.

  • *Fwooosh!* (Score:4, Funny)

    by CFBMoo1 (157453) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:20PM (#23405842) Homepage
    Somewhere in Washington state, a chair is launched on a direct trajectory towards Asus's offices. Naturally NORAD is confused at first till they calculate the launch location.
  • This is only useful if I can make my own splashtop image. Then it's useful for ALL KINDS of things, including media centers and most especially THIN CLIENTS. Also if you have... uhh, kexec I think? That lets you load a linux kernel from a linux kernel? Then you could jump from this right into your real distribution without having to re-POST.

  • Neat - but not all that useful (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:30PM (#23406070)
    I have one of the ASUS P35E Deluxe motherboards at home, and one of the reasons I picked it was for Splashtop. It wasn't the main reason, but I figured it was a neat addition. But honestly, Splashtop isn't all that useful.

    For one thing, for all that it's "instant on", it still doesn't load all that much faster than XP. Now maybe it's just because I have a hot processor, or a really lean XP installation, but honestly the difference isn't that noticable. Splashtop does load faster, but it's hardly "instant on"; you still need for the OS to boot.

    Then, there's the fact that all my info -passwords, bookmarks, etc.- are on my hard-drive and thus not accessible (at least, not by default) to Splashtop. So I'd have to punch all that info into a second OS (and there's no security on Splashtop, so I'd recommend against leaving any passwords in the browser).

    I suppose for laptop users Splashtop may be marginally more useful, although even they may prefer to load up the main OS, since it doesn't take that much longer to run and then they get access to all their information.

    I do like having a security blanket of having a way to check the web for help just in case XP hoses itself. Boot to Splashtop, surf the web for an answer, and then use that information to fix Windows. But in the end, Splashtop is more of a toy than a genuinely useful feature.

  • This is not Linux (Score:5, Informative)

    by JeremyGNJ (1102465) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:33PM (#23406146)
    People get so excitable every time they hear the word "linux". But the fact is, this is not really Linux, not in a form that people would run as an OS.

    It's just a way that Asus found to leverage something that is free, in order to avoid having to write their own own code for motherboard diagnostics and such. No one is going to "switch to linux" because their motherboard has a linux based diagnostic included.

    Maybe Asus will put the work "Linux" in bold letters of the mobo box, but this will not do anything. It will not "bring linux to the masses", because anyone who's actually buying a motherboard (as opposed to buying a pre-built computer), already knows what Linux is and will either run it, or not.

    • Re:This is not Linux (Score:5, Interesting)

      by bberens (965711) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:06PM (#23406814)
      I think it would be really interesting to boot my computer into "energy conservation mode" which doesn't even power up the hard disks but allows me to browse the web and send e-mail with near-instant on capability. Then, if I needed more 'stuff', I could switch to "normal" mode and get to all the rest of my stuff if need be. Having spent some time using things like feather linux, the responsiveness of using a RAM disk would make almost ANY average user wet themselves with glee.

    • Re:This is not Linux (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Shatrat (855151) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @01:07PM (#23406830)

      No one is going to "switch to linux" because their motherboard has a linux based diagnostic included
      I expect a lot of people will try linux for precisely that reason. There is a pretty large community of hardware tinkerers and overclockers that know lots and lots about cache sizes and bus widths but fairly little about software. I have met lots of these types who convince themselves that linux is "free as in crap" so that they won't have to learn anything more powerful that windows XP.

      Now if ASUS which is a darling of the hardware enthusiast community says that linux is a powerful tool I expect some of those perceptions will be changed.

  • Bad Precedent (Score:5, Interesting)

    by geekmansworld (950281) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:34PM (#23406154) Homepage
    This seems like a really bad idea. Microsoft is immediately going to feel the need to compete with this (irrational as that may be). Soon enough we'll have Windows APIs embedded in the ROMS of major motherboards, and we'll pay more for these "Microsoft certified" motherboards because the added loading speed is a "feature".

    Hardware should never be tied to an operating system. I'm a Mac user, and even I believe in that sacred tenet. The consumer needs to be able to choose whatever components they want, and tose components should work together to the best of their ability.

    Because it's free, Linux on Asus boards may not impede my consumer choice at the moment. But it sets a precedent which could greatly damage the environment of choice we currently enjoy.

  • Motherboard Malware! (Score:4, Funny)

    by PC and Sony Fanboy (1248258) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:35PM (#23406174) Journal
    Rock on... I'd like some integrated malware instead of this 'operating system' bullsh*t.

    I might even be able to steal some myspace passwords with it ... and pretend I've got friends ...

  • Big target. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Ungrounded Lightning (62228) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:45PM (#23406394) Journal
    Microsoft and their sympathizers have claimed that the main reason it's the big victim of malware is that it is the big target, and that if other OSes were as widely deployed they'd be as riddled. Linux, BSD, Firefox, Apache, and other FOSS projects claim that it mainly Microsoft's poor security, not just the monoculture providing a big target.

    Now we have million motherboards a month shipping with an identical OS - including a network stack and a browser - in the BIOS. Heavily used in this mode by the purchasers. If this is successfully suborned by malware it can romp all over the hard drive, even if the main system install isn't booted.

    Seems to me this is a showdown between the Microsoft and FOSS sides' claims. B-)

    • I RTFA and cursed (Score:5, Informative)

      by sm62704 (957197) on Wednesday May 14 2008, @12:18PM (#23405786) Journal
      It's that damned juvenile geek.com, and TFA's not much longer than the summary.

      And it ends with "Read the press release" that the submitter should have linked in the first place rather than that incredibly BAD geek.com) "here" [prweb.com].

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