Re: [tlug] ARM Netbooks Will Only Run ****x (was Re: Unix's 40th Birthday)

[Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com>]

On 2009-08-20 23:39 -0400 (Thu), jep200404 wrote:

> Stephen wrote:
> 
> > All the Eee PC class machines run XP ... 
> 
> The netbooks are a moving target. Many of them cost almost as 
> much as a low-end laptop, and the competitive pressure to 
> reduce the cost is fierce. To save power and reduce hardware 
> cost, many manufacturers are looking at using ARM CPUs. 

They're looking at it, but for reasons described below, Intel doesn't
have produce processors as cheap (both in cash and power budget) as ARM
processors, they simply have to come close. And they've not been doing
so bad a job with the Atom line.

> They will not be able to run x86 software (such as Win XP), 
> so they will mostly run ****x. 

Yes, but will they sell? How many people are really interested in using
a web browser that doesn't support Adobe Flash? There are a few more key
software components that need to be ported to ARM-based Linux before
it's ready for the masses.

Further, what with Moore's law and all that, I wonder if "netbooks"
will exist as a category distinct from low-end notebooks in a couple of
years, at least as far as CPU and memory and so on are concerned. A used
Lenovo X60 will set you back about the same as a new netbook (40,000
yen or so), and with a Core2Duo T5600 dual-core CPU, it makes a pretty
reasonable desktop replacement for the non-demanding user. It's not much
larger than a typical Netbook, and a lot more usable (almost-full-size
keyboard, 1024x768 screen). Look at the newer X200 and X300 series
machines (the X300s are already in their second generation) for more
speed and smallness, and rapidly dropping prices.

In three years, we will have $500 notebooks capable of running Vista and
larger than current netbooks mainly because of the 1450x900 screen and
near-full-size keyboard.

cjs
-- 
Curt Sampson       <cjs@example.com>        +81 90 7737 2974
           Functional programming in all senses of the word:
                   http://www.starling-software.com