Linux Desktop to Appear On Every Asus Motherboard 471
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."
Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)
Huh. (Score:5, Interesting)
So it's not going to change my purchasing, but it's still nice.
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)
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:Still don't see the point of burning it into RO (Score:3, Interesting)
True, there's a bit of a security risk, but as you said it's burned to a ROM, meaning you can't install any applications, so what IS the risk, really?
Can you roll your own Splashtop? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Debian "Moles" What Prevents Them? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Great timing! (Score:3, Interesting)
wireless (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Huh. (Score:5, Interesting)
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).
Neat - but not all that useful (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:4, Interesting)
Bad Precedent (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Bundling? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm wondering if this figure of 3 million includes all of the small IT shops putting out Linux boxes for their clients, or the in-house IT departments picking up some bare hardware and putting Linux on them. Or even the old "obsolete"* MS Windows boxes that are being repurposed as Linux installs.
* Obsolete in this case meaning that it doesn't have the muscle to adequately run Microsoft's latest and greatest, but still has enough oomph to run an OS that isn't a resource hog.
Re:Is it really that exciting? (Score:5, Interesting)
> 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:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Big target. (Score:4, Interesting)
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-)
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Huh. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:This is not Linux (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This is not Linux (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:*Fwooosh!* (Score:3, Interesting)
Finally? (Score:2, Interesting)
Bundling?
rs232 makes a very good point above...
rs232 is quite correct.
Go back 10 years... You simply could not buy a piece of (retail) hardware without getting a bunch of "goodies" on the driver and utility disks. Many major vendors that no one had ever heard of, got to be well known using this kind of marketing. Give it away for free, or include a trial version, as name recognition, even without monetization, can only be good for a company.
Unfortunately, some of the goodies were crap. Second rate antivirus software, CD virtualization tools, and "backup" software were very common. Even so, you weren't FORCED into installing them. They were optional. That is VERY different than overtly or covertly installing a piece of sub-standard, or insecure software WITH the OS. (To me, the quality of the software isn't the big issue with bundling, though it plays a big part in how happy or unhappy I am when falling victim to the "bundling" problem.)
Personally, I am very excited about this, and cannot wait to get one of my own....me and about a million other geeks, nerds, and
Re:Is it really that exciting? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Huh. (Score:5, Interesting)
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]
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:1, Interesting)
doesn't matter (Score:3, Interesting)
I can't find a clear answer on their site. (Score:3, Interesting)
If the system is an open one, it could be quite useful, and great fun to play with, I'd want several. If this is just another tivo, then it is pretty unexciting and disappointing.
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:1, Interesting)
Majority of all STBs coming out of the far east run linux exclusively.
Re:Still don't see the point of burning it into RO (Score:3, Interesting)
This is the same problem with MS reversing themselves on XP in the sub-notebook category. They came to Taiwan's OEMs and said OK, now you can still get XP licenses on these lightweight notebooks but you have to follow these restrictions like small screens and limited RAM. But they're playing a tricky game there because they no longer run the only game in town. What the OEMs are faced with is using XP on the crappy ones with small screens and less RAM and Linux on the sweet next generation ones with the full sized screens and 2Gigs of RAM. This is a situation being created by Microsoft's ham handed attempts to pretend they remain in control when they no longer have the control. Playing the restrictions game no longer puts them in the drivers seat. Quite to the contrary, they're insisting on being left out of the action completely.
Re:Year of the Linux of Desktop (Score:3, Interesting)
You have an OS called Windows XP. You have another OS called Ubuntu. Then another OS called MacOS X. Then another called Fedora. Then another called FreeBSD. And so on and so forth. All of them different OSes.
So, if your OS is, say, Ubuntu, and you want to run some piece of software, say, Firefox, you shouldn't ask whether it has a version that runs "in Linux", but whether it has a version that runs in Ubuntu. Because your OS isn't "Linux", it's Ubuntu.
And then it becomes easy. If it supports Ubuntu, you'll find in the manufacturer's website a file you can download, double click, and it'll be installed. Just like its Windows XP package. Or its MacOS X package.
If you think this is crazy, think again. MacOS X is also, roughly speaking, a distribution of NextStep. Many of the core components are the same, or very similar ones. But you won't find people complaining because a software available for MacOS X doesn't run unmodified in NextStep, or vice-versa. If it's available for both OSes, you just download the correct installer for the one you're using, and install it. If it is available only for one of them, you might get it working on the other, but it won't be a trivial thing to do.
And yes, the same goes for Windows. Suppose I'm still running Windows 95. A lot of software installer with those beautiful ".exe" extensions won't run. If the manufacturer doesn't provide a Windows 95 compatible version, I'm screwed. Is this something I should blame on Windows 95? No. So, why should I complain if I find a software that is labeled "for Slackware" when I'm not running Slackware? No reason at all.
Search for softwares compatible with your OS, and they'll be easy to install. Double-click easy in fact. Try to install something that wasn't designed for you, and it's anyone's guess whether you'll succeed or not. In any case, it's not the fault of either the software you downloaded, or of the OS you're running. It's you who are trying to do things you're not supposed to.
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:3, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Huh. (Score:3, Interesting)
Apart from geeks actually tearing the equipment apart and noticing the suave way the capacitors were slobbering I expect most people ended up retiring the equipment early. I can barely imagine how much frustration and lost work the problem has caused worldwide.
Re:Out of curiosity... (Score:5, Interesting)
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:3, Interesting)
That said, I'm sure that in the years to come, Linux is going to take an evergrowing slice of the pie. But I wouldn't expect it to have a majority for at least another 3-4 years. And with the advent of Media Server PCs, XBox360/Playstation, AppleTV, I rather expect the traditional STB to disappear before Linux ever becomes dominant.