back to article Eee PC series to get Windows 7 but not Vista, says CEO

Asus CEO Jerry Shen has denied claims that consumers are sending back more Linux netbooks than they're returning Windows-based models. Speaking in an interview with Laptop Magazine, Shen said return rates were the same for both operating systems. "I believe the Linux and Windows have similar return rates," he said, adding …

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  1. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    I'm shocked. Shocked, I say!

    You have an EEE piece without the EEE lady.

    I mean, I know I've just ordered an Aspire One, but that's no reason not to show us the EEE lady, now is it?

    Get it sorted please, or I shall have to []cancel my subscription/[]write to my MP/[]take up yoga (select as appropriate).

    Thank you.

    Paris, as the next best thing...

  2. dervheid
    Linux

    The "Shiny, shiny, Must have!" effect...

    in fool flow.

    Typical "Technotards" (TM).

  3. jonathan keith
    Gates Horns

    Potentially very interesting

    ... in that Windows 7 looks, in that case, to be light enough and stripped of Vista's bloat to be able to run effectively on a laptot.

    Unless the next line of Eees will have 4 gig of RAM and a quad-core CPU?

    No doubt it'll still be crippled by DRM though.

  4. Ken Hagan Gold badge

    Easy Mode

    Great, until the day you want to do something that the person who designed Easy Mode didn't anticipate. For even the most Luddite user, that's probably about a week.

    *Then* you want to go to the web and ask "How do I do <X> on <OS>?".

    Now, if <OS> is Windows or an off-the shelf Linux distro, the answer will be on the web and you can type in the runes and off you go. If <OS> is a "custom" job, with a total worldwide userbase numbering in the hundreds, biased inevitably towards that part of the user population who haven't the expertise to switch to something more mainstream, then you're stuffed.

    Top tip for Asus, Acer, and the rest. For your next SSC, do whatever "community participation" is required to make sure that a clean install of SUSE or *buntu Just Works. Then ship just exactly that. You'll get a better product and relieve yourselves of a long term support burden that (being hardware vendors) you really aren't capable of.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Return rates?

    "It has been claimed that vendors say Linux returns are higher."

    I can imagine that for most vendors (particularly high-street stores) this is true, because I suspect that most Linux EEE buyers got them on-line from a small number of high-volume, low-cost merchants.

  6. Nigel
    Alert

    Windows 7 != Vista SP2 ??

    Interesting - if Windows 7 will fit in an Eee PC with 1Gb and run at a reasonable speed on an Atom, can it really be Vista-based? At the very least it must be Vista with a lot of ectomies. Dare we hope for a successor worthy of XP's mantle?

  7. Mark H

    why pre-install Windows at all?

    I can give you one reason for starters. In order to use a netbook with Talk Talk broadband (without the use of a router) you need to install some software. I very much doubt Talk Talk supply a Linux version of this software.

  8. Tony Hoyle
    Stop

    Curious

    People are swallowing the line 'Windows 7 will be better' before anyone has actually seen it.

    For all we know it could suck harder than Vista.. MS don't exactly have a great track record on this, with the possible exception of the 95->2000 transition which was a real improvement.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Indeed.

    If both come running easy mode OOTB, I can't really see any point in sustaining both versions either. Anyone savvy enough to break out of easy mode is probably savvy enough to install whichever OS they want. However, I'm not leaning the way you'd expect. I suspect the windows version will be the one that survives, because:

    A) The Windows wireless drivers and client software are about a million times better. I had to restore xandros before it'd connect, and couldn't get reliable connection until I switched to Ubuntu.

    B) Updates. During my time with Xandros, I don't think I installed a single update that didn't necessitate I restore the machine immediately after. On the other hand, my illegal, Nlited copy of XP updates fine every time.

    C) Xandros is godawful and doesn't represent the state of modern linux development well at all. TBH, this is a battle the Linux community should want to lose. If Xandros had been my first experience of Linux, that'd have put me right off.

    IMO, As soon as Netbook remix goes gold, they should dump both OS's and migrate to a custom version of Ubuntu.

  10. Chronos
    Go

    Mass facepalm hits Asus

    "Shen said the Eee line will gain Windows 7 "in the second half of next year""

    If:

    1) Microsoft's roadmap is accurate, which I very much doubt given past performances;

    2) It's up to the job. Stating you'll change the BoM without testing with whatever you're changing to and before it's even released is rather stupid; stating you'll change the BoM from something proven and stable to a dot zero release is sodding madness;

    3) They don't rip enough planned "enhancements" out of 7 to make it another damp squib;

    4) Customers are willing to pay the MS tax on SCCs;

    5) Customers actually WANT Windows 7.

    Most amusing. Now the CEO's smunderlings are going to have to make his prophecy come true. Poor bastards, I almost feel sorry for them. Almost, were it not such good comedy ;o)

    "Oh Christ on a bike! He's off again, making more impossible work for us. Someone shut him up, please? Anyone?"

    Proceed, because I really do love a good laugh on a Wednesday morning...

  11. Stu
    Stop

    Windows 7 = magic bullet?

    I fail to see how anybody can perceive that MS will make Windows 7 quicker than Vista, I'd be amazed even if that OS runs on netbooks.

    Look at M$ history of Windows releases, each and every progressive release has increased the size of the OS by varying degrees. As a result, has also been accompanied by a need for more modern hardware and increased specifications, to support all the extra services and features.

    Windows 7 now looks like it'll have full voice support and multi-touch, and everybody will expect all the extra Vista gubbins to go with it- Aero interface, Windows Presentation Foundation, UAC, Hyper-V and VHD support, etc etc. This stuff doesn't come CPU/memory usage free.

    Even if they could, it relies on the fact that W7 will be flawless out of the box, just look at the long running issue with slow file copies/deletions etc on Vista, pre SP1. And now we've got a shedload of patches on Vista already and SP2 is on the way already.

    I bet anybody here a grand that W7 will be bigger, and will not run well on these small low powered netbooks, esp with todays specs, even with an Intel Atom chip.

    ...That is of course unless they release a different version specifically for netbooks, with a hell of a lot of the bloat ripped out.

  12. Lee
    Coat

    Like Vista needs another good kicking....

    and confirms what we all suspected....windows 7 will be here next year....let the hype start afresh...sorry....mines the mac, don't like coats

  13. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

    @Mark H

    All the ISP's I have had contact with say "We do not support Linux". They all supply a CD and say you have to install the software (malware/adware?) on it. Every single time I have thrown the CD in the bin without opening it and connected with Linux without any hassle whatsoever. I would be shocked it Talk Talk were any different, but I will take your warning at face value and avoid Talk Talk unless someone who knows better speaks up.

    Asus do not need to have outstanding Linux support for every WIFI chip. They only need to select one of the chips that is well supported.

    As for Windows 7, MS did say something about chopping it up so a subset of it could run on a mainstream computer. Perhaps Asus are basing their decision on a sneak preview of XP7^W VistaSP3^W Windows 7. I have yet to hear any advantage for the customer in Windows 2017 over Vista. Asus could save themselves some time and money by sticking with Linux/XP until hell freezes over^W^W^W MS release something better.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If hackers can do it so can....

    ...Microsoft. What do I mean? Well there's been an XP lite version on all those nasty horrible (and usefull) sites we dare not speak of. I installed the XP lite and it flies far quicker then the standard XP.

    So, if a bunch of hackers can release a lite'd version why can't M$ do so for Vista?

    Let's face it, Vista is bloated, complicated and security is a nightmare as M$ been too clever by halve. (I've seen experienced tech guys stumped at Vista and Office 2007 macro security settings).

    There should have been 3 versions of Vista.

    1. Vista Lite, for home users

    2. Vista Liter still, for business users

    3. Vista everything for the techies who have nothing better to do then keep configuring the settings.

    It still cracks me up watching businesses buy Professional when the user only writes out an occassional Word document, send an email and stare in amazement at a spreadsheet. What a waste of money!

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Flocke

    Re: Asus Wifi.

    No, they don't need oustanding linux support for every wireless card. Only the ones they put in Linux machines in the first place. Which is the problem. The Atheros card in the 701 is crap under Xandros, but decent under windows.

    I expect MS will probably release Windows 7: Netbook edition. Which will just be XP with faux aero skin on it.

  16. Andus McCoatover
    Coat

    I don't get it....

    I LOVE my EEEPC-701. Simple, runs Linux - as if I give a hoot - , does what it says on the tin. Internet access, emails, Skype and the occasional document. That'll do me.

    If you buy a 'fridge, and it says on the box, "Keeps food cool", that's what I expect it to do. And it does. Like the eee - does exactly what's promised.

    I don't expect it to iron my shirts, wake me with fresh coffee in the morning, cook my food and give me a damn decent blowjob on a Friday night. I got a girlfriend for those. She can't keep food cold (well, except for her famed icy stare). OK, bit frigid sometimes ;-)

    WTF would anyone want XP/Vista/W7 on a tool that fits in a coat pocket, goes everywhere I do and does >95% of what we *really* use a PC for??

    I've a *real* laptop at home for downloading pr0n/playing games, whatever.

    Mine's the one with the Asus bird's photo in the pocket.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    TalkTalk

    The key in Mark's comment was "without a router" - in other words, using the PoS USB DSL "modem" that most of the pikier ISPs foist on you.

    USB drivers, of course, are needed. Which come on the crapware-bloated "install CD".

    How many people, though, are going to want to use this kind of netbook tied to the wall by a USB dongle and a phone cable? I suspect you could count 'em on the fingers of one foot. Wireless routers or 3G datacards will be the order of the day.

  18. James Pickett
    Happy

    EZ

    "Easy Mode that will run on Windows"

    That I have to see!

    As for Win7 (which we have already been told is based on Vista), I look forward to seeing the Linux and Windows hardware side by side. The Windows one should be obvious from the freestanding external battery, exhaust fans and water-cooling tower necessary to run the array of parallel processors and DDR3 RAM...

  19. James Henstridge

    title

    While the comment seems to indicate that WIndows 7 would be lighter weight, making it more suitable than Vista, the other interpretation is that the Eee PCs sold in the middle of next year will be more powerful than those available today.

    The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

  20. Uncle Slacky Silver badge

    @James Pickett

    Easy Mode in Windows = the return of Microsoft BOB?

  21. Neil Daniels
    Go

    @ AC 13:22

    XP with an Aero interface? Perfect.

  22. Daniel B.
    Boffin

    Re: Curious

    "People are swallowing the line 'Windows 7 will be better' before anyone has actually seen it."

    But they *did* see Windows ME. You know, that thing MS released between win98 and XP, which was supposed to be the "home user" upgrade as win2000 was "business only". Except ME sucked hard, people preferred win2k so much that MS finally gave w2k DirectX support (they stated at the beginning that they would *never* do that) and hurried up XP's release.

    Given how many Vista failings seem to be similar to the ME failures, it might be that everyone's betting on something like this happening all over again. Even MS now admits that WinME was a "stop-gap" project between Win98 and XP.

  23. Neoc

    Asus & Xandros

    Re: WiFi. Funny, I haven't had a single problem with the wifi connections. I *do* still have problem with autofs to my winXP boxen, but that's probably because I didn't make the correct offerings during setup ^_^

    As for bypassing "easy mode", it was.. well.. easy: two "apt-get" commands later and I had access to the desktop. Now if only it'd remember which mode I was last in...

    My *biggest* winge is the almost total lack of support for any 3G USB modem other than the H220. Gimme H160G support, dammit!

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Xandros/ Easy Mode: bad product

    My EEE 1000 was powering off every now and then ( battery fully charged ).

    Wiped that awfull xandros thing, put ubuntu and guess what: all works very well since (2 months now). I think suse or redhat would do it as well.

    The Xandros thing looked like an improvised thing, the update support useless (hanging) ...

    Why spending for a lame result instead putting up something working along major distribs, like http://www.array.org/ubuntu/index.html?

    And as the lame Easy Mode is the default for naïve owners, an easy switch to advanced or whatever they're willing to call a normal desktop would be appreciated.

  25. jim

    refl

    I'm not sure why the writer says the returns are "no reflection on Linux". I bought one expecting to like Linux and Ebayed it a few months later after an unsuccessful 2-day struggle to update FireFox. In a nutshell, Linux was just one huge pain in the @ss.

    Apparently a lot of people think Xandros is at fault, but hey. Not gonna hand-edit any more configuration files or hunt for any more "distros", thanks very much.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    too little, too late

    I already made the switch

  27. Yfrwlf

    There is still the cost difference

    Compatibility with apps is important, but as Linux apps continue growing this becomes less of an issue. You can't really game on an EEE PC much any way, and what games you can play can be played through DOSBox or Wine or whatnot usually.

    I think that all of this means that the price difference will push many to choose the Linux version. I wonder how long it will be before Microsoft switches to software support and advertisement business models?

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