Posts by spegru

No-one should be surprised

With their vista problems and the obvious threat from linux, mist were always going to try to defend themselves and XP (and probably MSworks too) at very allow/givaway prices is an obvious choice how to do that.

So the question is will it be enough? On the one hand further XP sales will undermine Vista sales. On the other hand even XP is to clunky for small 'cheap computers' - plus it cant be customised to make it sexy in the Apple air kind of way that the hardware makers would like

On the one hand Msft can use XP to fend off linux (but not well enough) and on the other it could be the author of vista's downfall

problem. but I predict it's going to continue through 2008/9

spegru

Good but not very innovative

I built several PCs of similar size going back to about 2004, using a Biostar iDeq barebones system.

(the Reg even reviwed the iDeq - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/05/biostar_ideq_200n_review/)

All run linux of course and the cost was about the same as this device.

I suppose it would have been good not to have to physically build it though (at the time it seemed impossible to buy fully built without micro$oft tax)

spegru

End Users, PSTN vs VoIP & Emergencies

End Users are stupid - we all know that. So, for that matter are ISPs.

It is just this type of event that will prevent VoIP supplanting ye olde PSTN.

Mistakes WILL be made and so we need a system that works by default for emergency calls.

eg.

For VoIP on broadband, there are devices that will call-through to the PSTN for emergency calls even though they normally use VoIP - (so you always get a geographic fix like in the old days). This should be mandatory for broadband devices with VoIP functions (that users could forget they have) - and PSTN should remain the preferred option for emergency calls.

Alternatively:

Dedicated VoIP Numbers that (automatically) prompt the question 'where are you?'. Likewise Mobile numbers (for that picnic)

There is a major role for regulators in this

spegru

well done bt

A key beauty of the eee is its price.

So in one go Bt have managed to create a eeepc that now costs more than some full sized laptops! all of them can run openoffice so the question has to be WHY???

At last we see the size of microsoft tax

Basic rate = 8Gb 'hard disk' (20-12Gb) - say £36

higher rate = £86 (422-336)

total - £122

That's about 25% of unnecessary expense!

Don't bother with msft - keep the cash for beer!

spegru

PS. Dropped my eee onto hard pavement the other day. No damage!

@@@Morely

A bit touchy?

I have to say that I don't even see the freetard term as an insult

(If was really intended as such then, it's laughable)

Let's adopt Freetard, just like certain other unmentionable terms that were previously intended at insults. At least it's easy to say..........

C'mon Morley calm down and keep el Reg visible.

spegru

Ever heard the espression:

The great thing about standards is th there are so many to choose from?

We already have ODF. Why the hell do we need another 'standard'?

The only country that this could conceivably be to the benefit of is the US of A, and even that is a long shot.

This must be stopped!

Xandros

That looks positive for the future of the eee.

If there's a new Xandros SDK then presumably there will be Xandros in the new bigger one, and maybe even the desktop version...

Could be attractive for other PC vendors too

@ Trevor Watt

Your argument is also flawed.

So you make a nice chair

But after that you can make copies of that chair - for nothing!

MFIKea need to tool up and manufacture their copy - which will take a while

In the interim, you can sell your free-to-make copies at massive profits

In the end the copy is not quite the same anyway (so it cant be passed-off as yours). The snob value and your support costs for fixing / upgrading your chair (which isn't as good quality as you said it was) keep you in mega business - for eternity, because you pay the shops to suppress information about the MFIkea chair (just like PC World and OOO).

Is that sensible?

So Freetard of Paytard. The choice is yours!

spegru

Can't they all see?

Everything msft does is to protect itself from OpenOffice.

That's why they'll never do native ODF in MSOffice, nor any other standard (unless forced to).

For them a converter is by far preferable because users never bother to check what they 'save as', and just use the default. A converter looks like it might solve the problem but really its just an attempt to get them off the hook, because most users will not have it. This stuff needs to be a default, not an occasional option!

Did anyone else notice that the windows eeepc will be bundled with MSWorks (spit)? Why not OpenOffice like the Linux version? That's to protect MSOffice by keeping OpenOffice and ODF out - that's why!

ISO should reject all MSFT efforts and just force ODF formats on them at pain of huge fines by the EU.

And that goes not only for ODF (word processor), but also ODS (spreadsheet) and ODP (presentation)

End of Rant

Where to get your eee

PC world!

Piles of em...........

Maybe that's why clove etc can't get enough

Which reliant?

@ anonymous you could be right - Del Boy's was a Regal it was according to wikipedia....

I alway thought that theirs was was the van version of the Rialto and that the later Rialto was the reuse of an old name.........

oh well!

She's Back!

Also, I would be surprised if here were many technical difficulties in fitting a bigger flash disk. So i wonder if the reason is really that the prices of 8G flash is too high - or indeed if the 4G ones are selling well enough thankyou.

Persoanally, having used mine for a month or so, 4G is reasonable, esp with a 4G plug in card as well. However a bigger screen (in the existing case) really would be cool!

spegru

This may be significant

Skype on Linux. Two very distruptive technologies coming together on (what one would hope will also be) low cost deveices.

You have to admire the Skype guys - putting together a fantastic marketing machine and tons of partners. And all using ye olde Windows PC as a Trojian Horse to get customers used to it.

Linux of course has to benefit enormously also and with these portable devices you might say that the next target is Symbian- or at least Windows Mobile

I wonder if these will be a s cheap or maybe even cheaper than the eeePC.

Using these low end devices as an entry point for linux into the mass market does sound very much like Komatsu's "Surround Caterpillar" strategy that worked so well in that past

Pricing

What will be interesting to see is what happens to the attractive price of the eeepc, with windows. The great thing with the current Linux version is we can see what it costs without windows. So if the price difference is small then it will be clear for the world to see that MSFTs pricing is predatory. On the other hand, If it is large then maybe the windows units wont sell because it will be too close to a full laptop.

A couple of other things:

1. How much could a full size linux eeepc be made for? Do you think £250-280 is possible? That could be interesting.

2. I wonder if they will bundle open office with the windows version .............

spegru

Missing the point?

Msft are saying that these file are insecure and correct that these files are insecure and "They may pose a risk to you".

Fair enough at one level you might think (especially if you dont care about future accessibility).

But consider this: An MS file doesn't actually do anything - it needs MSOffice.

So the 'risk' is actually from Office 2003, and what we have here is Msft cheap-skating their way out of fixing bugs!

They do already!

The thing is, that Tesco already sell PCs with linux pre-installed

See http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-6129.aspx and

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-6129.aspx

Which at £189 and £139 (for base units) looks pretty convincing.

I wonder how that will continue now?

BTW, Merry Christmas all Register-ites

Eee, Windows and Competition Authorities

But it remains a flaw you might be willing to put up with on a 200-quid machine, but not necessarily one setting you back £500...........

One thing that occurs to me about the eeepc is that in part at least it's as cheap as 200 this because of its lack of windows.

I wonder how much Asus will charge for a windows version. Will msft be giving windows away? It will be interesting to see how a windows version sells, and at what price. If its £40-80 it may be too much as it would push th eee to base laptop levels. On the other hand, if it's really cheap or a no cost then I wonder if the competition authorities will assuse msft of dumping.

This could be the first time it will become really clear how much OEMs pay for windows.