June 7, 2009
by sjvn01
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Last week, all the headlines were about the advancements in the Linux netbook at the Computex trade show, and in all the hub-bub, we all missed that Dell also introduced a great, full-sized notebook at an amazing price: the Dell Inspiron 15n.
Or, at least, I missed it. Fortunately, I was given a call over the weekend and told to give it a look. While I haven’t had a chance to get my hands on one, it sounds wonderful.
June 5, 2009
by sjvn01
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I’d been waiting for Chrome on Linux since Chrome first showed up. Chrome, if you haven’t tried it, is the speed-demon of Web browsers. I love it. But, until now, there really wasn’t a version that would run natively on Linux. Starting last night, June 4th, Google released developer’s versions of Chrome for Macs and Linux. They’re rough, really rough, but they’re also really fast. Here’s what I found in my first hours of working with Chrome on Linux.
I downloaded the developer release 3.0.183.1 on two different Linux systems. One was running MEPIS 8 and the other had Ubuntu 9.04. Both are Debian-based Linux distributions, and I chose them for that since Chrome is currently only available in 32 and 64-bit versions in the DEB format. You can install DEB packages in Linux distributions that use RPM program packaging systems, but I didn’t want to introduce any more variables than possible in looking at alpha software.
In the event, while Chrome installed without a hitch in both, on MEPIS, it wasn’t able to connect with any network services, so I dropped looking at it on that Linux for now. On my Ubuntu 9.04 PC it was a different story. On this Gateway 503GR with a 3GHz Pentium IV CPU, 2GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon 250 graphics card, and a 300GB SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) hard drive, Chrome ran with blazing speed.
June 4, 2009
by sjvn01
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One of the great Linux myths is that it doesn’t support modern hardware. What nonsense! I’ve been finding for years that it’s the newer Windows desktops that don’t support equipment.
To make sure that Linux supports hardware, Greg Kroah-Hartman, a Linux kernel developer and an engineer at Novell, started a project, the LDP (Linux Driver Project), for open-source developers to create hardware drivers for free for companies. You don’t even have to reveal your precious proprietary secrets to the world. The programmers will keep those secret.
It’s been a very successful project. Last year, at the Linux Foundation conference, Kroah-Hartman said, “LDP) is alive and well, with over 300 developers wanting to participate, many drivers already written and accepted into the Linux kernel tree, and many more being currently developed. The main problem is a lack of projects. It turns out that there really isn’t much hardware that Linux doesn’t already support. Almost all new hardware produced is coming with a Linux driver already written by the company, or by the community with help from the company.”
It’s only gotten better since then. Kroah-Hartman released a report today in which he summed up where the project has been in the last year and where it’s going.
First, “Goal one (write drivers) has been very successful. Myself and many other members of the LDP have written new drivers for a wide range of different hardware devices, and gotten them merged into the main kernel tree. Several more are currently under development and we are averaging about 2 queries a month for different drivers from different companies.”
Next, “Goal two (educate people) has been reasonably successful. While working with many companies, we have helped them become maintainers of their own codebases within the kernel, integrating them into the main kernel development process, allowing themselves to control their drivers and direction for their Linux support much easier.”
Finally, “Goal three (work in the open) has succeeded even better than I had expected. At the Linux Kernel Summit last year, the drivers/staging/ tree was created, allowing us a place within the main Linux kernel tree for drivers to be merged that were not yet of the high kernel quality standards. This has allowed many users the ability to use their hardware with Linux much earlier than previously possible, and it has allowed a common place for the community to contribute patches and fixes for these drivers. This has alleviated the need to hunt over the Internet for various drivers.”
Kroah-Hartman added, “The staging tree has also provided a place for developers wishing to get into Linux kernel development to easily help out and start working on code.” I’ll add that if you’re a programmer adding ‘device driver developer’ on your resume is always a win.
Looking forward, Kroah-Hartman plans simply to keep on keeping on.It’s worked so far.
To be honest, device drivers, on any platform, are always moving targets. And, while you can get basic functionality from almost any device, getting the fancier stuff can be a real challenge.
In particular, all-in-one units that combine multiple functions into a single box, remain problem children. Getting any single function to work isn’t a problem, co-coordinating all of them, that’s not so easy. In no small part, that’s because what people want isn’t just a working fax/printer/scanner, they want the front-end software that lets you manage all that functionality.
That’s a problem, which will only be solved when hardware companies start writing more programs for Linux desktop users. With the rise of Linux netbooks, though, this issue too will be addressed.
Before closing though let me say that this is not just a Linux problem. I, and many others, have endless troubles with multi-function devices on Macs and Windows PCs. In particular, I’ve found that a machine which will work great with one version of Windows will have fits with another version and I’ve found the same thing with Macs operating systems. Regardless of your operating system, we could really use better device support all-around from the vendors.
June 3, 2009
by sjvn01
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I can barely keep track of all the Linux netbook-related announcements from this week’s Computex trade show, and I follow this stuff for a living. So, I sat down and put together a list so I could a grip on what’s coming up with the Linux netbook for the rest of the year. This is what I came up with.
1) Moblin 2.0, Intel’s, and now the Linux Foundation’s, entry in the netbook Linux operating system race seems to be the early winner. Canonical, with Ubuntu Netbook Remix; Linpus, Novell; Red Flag; and Xandros all announced they will deliver Moblin versions of their distributions for Intel’s Atom architecture.
Of these Linux distributors while Ubuntu has the most buzz, it looks like Novell has the lead in actually getting contracts signed with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). The giant white-box PC vendor, Acer, which seems to be getting into Moblin in a big way, appears to have a deal with Novell. MSI, a smaller PC vendor, will certainly be shipping SUSE Moblin. Xandros also has a Moblin partnership going with Asus.
You can expect to see the Moblin netbooks going up for sale by the start of the fourth quarter. By my count, there will be at least eight Moblin netbooks shipping by year’s end. I won’t be in the least bit surprised though if it turns out that there will be more than a dozen of them.
June 2, 2009
by sjvn01
1 Comment
As expected, there’s a flood of Linux netbook announcements at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan. What wasn’t expected was for one of the top netbook companies, Asus, to turn its back on one of its own netbooks running Android Linux.
I’m sorry I’m not in Taipei for the show. It must have been quite the sight.
On Monday, Qualcomm showed an Asus Eee PC using its new ARM Snapdragon chips to run Google’s Android Linux. From all reports, the skinny, little Android-powered netbook looked great.
So, this was a good day for Asus right? A new ARM-powered Asus netbook with Android, the Linux everyone has been talking about, and at a price-point that will given Intel’s Moblin 2.0 some real competition. Wrong.
The very next day, Asus’ chairman, Jonney Shih, after sharing a news conference stage with Microsoft corporate VP, OEM Division, Steven Guggenheimer, apologized for the Android Eee PC being shown.
Shih said, “Frankly speaking … I would like to apologize that, if you look at Asus booth, we’ve decided not to display this product. I think you may have seen the devices on Qualcomm’s booth but actually, I think this is a company decision so far we would not like to show this device. That’s what I can tell you so far. I would like to apologize for that.”
What the heck does he have to apology for? This wasn’t some put-together at the last minute skunk-works project that never should have been seen by the public eye. This was a system that, from all reports, could have gone into production immediately.
The only thing I can think of is that Asus doesn’t want to tick off Microsoft. Microsoft has been losing money by almost giving away Windows XP Home to netbook vendors. The Evil Empire wants to make that up this year by forcing netbook customers into buying over-priced, under-powered Windows 7. But, if customers get a chance to buy Linux-powered netbook for a good deal less than Windows 7 netbooks, Microsoft is scared that they’ll lose the netbook market.
If this was an isolated incident, I might not make so much of it. But, it wasn’t.
On the other side of the world, PC World, Britain’s self-professed largest specialist chain of computing superstores, announced that, regardless of what was coming with Linux netbooks, it would only be selling Windows netbooks.
In a statement, Jeremy Fennell, Category Director at PC World, said, “Despite initial hype that netbooks would move more users onto the Linux platform, Microsoft has emerged as the preferred operating system because Windows makes it easier to share content, and provides customers with a simpler, more familiar computing experience on the move.”
Therefore, “Based on this insight, all the netbooks in our stores will feature Microsoft Windows, larger screens and keyboards, and greater colour choices to satisfy customers demand for performance, design and familiarity.”
Yeah. Right. Sure.
Microsoft, frightened by the sudden rise of new Linux netbooks, is doing it best to make sure that neither you, nor anyone else, get a chance to even see one, never mind buy one.
It’s typical Microsoft strong arm tactics. Microsoft doesn’t dare compete on quality, so it pressures OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and retailers to keep people from even realizing that there are other, never-mind better, choices.
So, if you want to see Linux netbooks, now is the time to let your vendors and retailers know that you want real choice. That, you want to see ARM netbooks with Android, and other Linux choices. That you want to see Intel Atom netbooks with Moblin and other Linuxes. Many PC makers, like Acer, are releasing Linux netbooks, we need to support them and let their sales partners know that we want their products.
If we don’t… Well, don’t blame me if in 2010, your only netbook choices are crippleware Windows 7 netbooks or $500+ netbook/laptops with Windows 7 Home Premium.
June 1, 2009
by sjvn01
0 comments
Believe it or not, I rather like Windows 7. I still think XP SP3 is what you want if performance matters most to you, but 7 does OK on the racetrack, and most of Vista’s biggest annoyances have either been fixed or dumped. Technically speaking, Windows 7 is exactly what Microsoft needs in order to recover from its Vista fiasco. Too bad the company seems to want to shoot itself in the foot.
Although Windows 7 pricing hasn’t been officially announced, the word is out — the “word” actually being two words: higher prices. Whether you buy a single Windows 7 license or a few thousand, the expectation is that you’ll be paying more.
Will this go over well? Let me check. Is the economy still a mess? Does anyone have much cash lying around? I don’t think so, and neither do any of the companies that track such things. There’s a reason why cheap-as-dirt netbooks have been the one hardware sector that has been showing some life: People can afford them.