The Most Hated Company In the PC Industry

[greggh]

http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/column ... hp/3719776

The source of ire is a tiny laptop called the ASUS Eee PC. This open, flexible, relatively powerful, and very small laptop is notable for one feature above all: Its price. The Eee PC can be had for as little as $299. (Go here to read the reviews -- they're all positive.)

Let's take a moment to ponder how cheap that is. This full-featured laptop costs $69 less than the 16 GB Apple iPod Touch. It's $100 less than an Amazon Kindle e-book reader. The most expensive configuration for the ASUS Eee PC on Amazon.com is $499.

Even though ASUS isn't a well-known consumer brand, and even though the company just started selling them in late 2007, the company expects to sell up to a half million units by March, and up to 5 million by 2009.

The reason Microsoft hates Asustek couldn't be more obvious. The Eee PC runs Linux (Xandros running KDE) and uses an appealing and innovative tabbed-based user interface developed by Asustek. The device also comes with OpenOffice, a Microsoft Office replacement, and Firefox. The entire system -- hardware, OS, office suite and applications -- costs $30 less than Amazon.com's discounted price for Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate alone. The Asus Eee PC is demonstrating to the world that its success depends on aggressively *avoiding* any Microsoft product.

Apple and Dell hate Asustek because these companies have been planning for quite a while to introduce flash storage-based mini laptops. But by the time they get around to shipping, the ASUS Eee PC will have already gobbled up some of the market. Worse, the ASUS Eee PC is preemptively poisoning the well by applying enormous price pressure on these two companies.

In truth, Apple isn't all that concerned because they'll do what they do, and the masses will respond. But poor Dell. That company's flash-based mini-laptop will probably cost five times as much as the ASUS. It will be 10% better and 500% more expensive than the ASUS Eee PC. Good luck with that, Dell!

There's no question about it -- Asustek is the most hated company in the industry. Microsoft, Apple, Dell and Palm hate Asustek because the company can give us something they can't: A super cheap, flexible, powerful mobile computer. At $299, why would anyone not buy one?

So with game changing devices like super tiny, and super cheap Linux laptops, like the eeePC... Is the question, "Is this the year of Linux on the Desktop?" the wrong question to ask? Maybe Linux will first sneak it's way on to everybody's tiny cheap take everywhere laptop...

[Tsuroerusu]

So with game changing devices like super tiny, and super cheap Linux laptops, like the eeePC... Is the question, "Is this the year of Linux on the Desktop?" the wrong question to ask? Maybe Linux will first sneak it's way on to everybody's tiny cheap take everywhere laptop...

I would say yes, it is the wrong question to ask. I firmly believe that the concept of "The Year of Linux on the Desktop" is a dream-world concept. Can you honestly foresee that the desktop market share of GNU/Linux would increase to like 30 percent in just a single year? I sure can't. It's a fundamental fact that people hate change, and the concept of millions of non-geek computer users switching to GNU/Linux in just one year, is simply not something I would call possible.

I think the question to ask is "How much progress will free software make in 2008?", that's a realistic question, because we can say for sure that progress will be made. With the release of KDE 4.0 in a few days, KDE is laying a ginormous foundation for the future, so in just a few days we will see free software making progress in 2008, and then it's time to look forward again. Gotta keep going!

[davijordan]

When you can buy a good used laptop for half the price and with more horsepower, who cares. I think it is funny to see all of them fight over the emperor's new clothes. I will still use my p1 laptop for a while.

[greggh]

When you can buy a good used laptop for half the price and with more horsepower, who cares. I think it is funny to see all of them fight over the emperor's new clothes. I will still use my p1 laptop for a while.

There's something very appealing about a 2 lb notebook, and at around $300 this is a whole new animal.

[snarkout]

When you can buy a good used laptop for half the price and with more horsepower, who cares. I think it is funny to see all of them fight over the emperor's new clothes. I will still use my p1 laptop for a while.

Um, anyone who travels a lot for a living and needs access to quick and easy computing? Hell, my thinkpad is only 14" and I find it an amazing PITA to lug around sometimes - add a few bigass textbooks, stationary and pens/pencils, a few dozen cables, and several tools, and my backpack is suddenly 40+ lbs. And the most "traveling" I do is around town, or the occasional hop from state to state. Imagine hopping the Atlantic regularly in this scenario. Also, I know several people who, for years, lamented the laptop's move from actually being "laptops" to portable desktops. Many of them are happy because of this new transition.

[davijordan]

my compaq laptop is not that big and not that heavy. If I do need to do a trek, I put it in a backpack. I still have the price of a new laptop in the bank earning interest.

[snarkout]

Fair enough, and good for you. "Who cares" was all I was addressing - lots of people do, obviously. If you don't have a need for an ultralight, like your older lappy, and can save money, then you are coming out ahead. That's kind of a shitty reason to pooh-pooh innovation, though.

[davijordan]

I love innovation. I have spent a ton of time in seeing what can be used as a thin client for linux. I could almost write a book or do a video. Anyway If I buy something, it will be on my terms and only when I have a real need for it. I just do not think the mini laptops are up to the specs they could be for the price. Things change so quick anyway, that I feel it will be obsolete within a few months. Now if there was a reasonable wearable computer that I can controlled by voice command. I would consider that next. Also now that there is voip for the itouch, I might consider something in that direction. Of course it will be an open source alternative if I do. Right now I am working on programming old machines to work as robots. That is enough innovation for me for a while.