Elonex ONE Subnotebook Shows Right Path For Linux

davidmwilliams writes "Whether it was to your taste or not, there's no denying the ASUS Eee Linux subnotebook was a massive sales success. Demand far exceeded initial production so it's not surprising competitor models are on their way. Just like the Eee, the Elonex achieves cost savings by bundling freely redistributable open source software including, of course, the Linux operating system (specifically, Linos 2.6.21). Those who use the Elonex ONE may well understand it uses something called Linux under the hood, but they don't really have to grasp what this means. They don't have to care that the WiFi hardware was carefully chosen to be one of the exclusive few which has supported Linux drivers. They don't need to tamper with the way their family computer is already set up."

Year of the Linux Desktop!

[Leonard Fedorov (1139357)]

"And hence, shall usher in the Year of the Linux Desktop..."

At least, thats what reading between the lines gave me. Your milage may differ.
Its a nice idea, but how many of things have said they've managed to bridge the gap?
I'm not holding my breath.

Re:Year of the Linux Desktop!

[Darkness404 (1287218)]

There is no "gap" between Windows and Linux for general use. Windows has more specialty applications that Linux lacks but that is only because it has been around in desktop use (for most people who use Linux we aren't talking about Linus here....) for longer then Linux has. All Linux is lacking is good support pre-installed by most manufacturers, with the EEE, the XO and now this, it seems like Linux can start being installed on more things. The gap is closing with every new computer maker who installs Linux on new computers.

Re:

[spitzak (4019)]

Wow! You have demonstrated an unbelievably low level of reading comprehension. Congratulations!

In case you missed it I will quote the second sentence: "Windows has more specialty applications that Linux lacks but that is only because it has been around in desktop use for longer then Linux has." Now you can argue whether that is true or false, but he directly addressed your question.

Re:Year of the Linux Desktop!

[Glonoinha (587375)]

Ask yourself how many DELL laptops are being shipped with Linux on them, and how many end users will leave the Linux on their new Dell laptop and actually use it regularly.

The answer will surprise you : almost ALL of them.

The MediaDirect functionality that's being shipped on every Dell laptop that comes with the media buttons on the front (so the user can play music, DVDs, etc) without booting the system - is running Linux.
So yea - Linux is out there, and people are using it. Maybe not as originally intended, or to the limits of its ability - but it's definitely being used.

Very interesting

[TheRaven64 (641858)]

I'd like to know what the '300MHz LNX Code 8 Mobile Processor' is. My guess would be a Cortex A8 derivative, but it doesn't specify. I'd be interested to know if the machine can run other operating systems (e.g. OpenBSD). At under £100, it's very tempting to pick one up to play with. 1GB of flash is not very much though, and the only expandability is via USB (no flash cards, unfortunately).

Yeah, that damn CPU- why all the secrecy?

[Dogtanian (588974)]

Re: the CPU question.... I agree, I was going to say the same thing, but my connection is playing up.

I first heard of the Elonex ONE via Slashdot on a roundup of the Eee PC's rivals. It looked interesting, and I might have considered pre-ordering one, but there was bugger all concrete detail about the CPU.

Looking at the website now, it doesn't seem to give much (if any) more information than what was available back then. It states that they're using an "LNX [Elonex, geddit?!] Code 8 300MHz Mobile Processo

Re:

[dominux (731134)]

it is a VIA chip. x86 compatible. No, I don't get the code name thing either.

Re:

[arivanov (12034)]

Thanks for the info. This sounds plausible as Elonex has a history of shipping Via based kit and hiding the bleeding obvious behind marketing bollocks.

This puts the One more or less in the right frame. Assuming this is C3, model 8 of C3 is a fairly low on the pecking order. Model 7 is classic Eden with no AES. Dunno what is model 8 is as I have only 8 and 10+ around the house, but it is likely to be more of an Eden than C7. 300MHz is lower than what is usually used for fanless Via Thin clients (400 for the

What market?

[grizdog (1224414)]

They say they are targeting the education market, "every child should have a laptop", which is great, but isn't there a big market just as a thin interface/word processor? I can think of lots of people who don't play games, and wouldn't need any more than this to satisfy their computing needs, maybe with a bigger monitor at home, maybe not.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the years. It used to be that people who didn't like computers, but had to use them for a few things, avoided Linux like the plague. It may be that these very people are about to embrace it, if it gives them all they want.

Linos...

[Vectronic (1221470)]

Just what exactly is Linos? I tried Google, and it gave me nothing useful. (Photphonics, and Industrial software)

They might get even more publicity and help if they said "It uses Linos, which is based on [insert major distribution]"

Unless its not based on anything, which would be "cool" but not very well thought through, unless they have a huge Help & Support staff/department.

Re:

[jeiler (1106393)]

Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] is your friend. :)

Re:

[Vectronic (1221470)]

Yes it is, and thanx... guess we'll have to wait till some people get there hands on one to find out what its capable of.

Although according to that sentence at Wikipedia, its proprietary, so that kinda sucks depending on what the TOS/License allows.

Re:

[jeiler (1106393)]

Actually I'm also hoping that if a slashdotter gets ahold of Linos and finds out more, they'll also update the WP article. (hint, hint)

Re:Linos...

[hansraj (458504)]

Wikipedia does have an entry about Linos [wikipedia.org]. Unfortunately the whole article is:

Linos is a proprietary embedded version of Linux used by Aware Electronics in their A-BOOK products[1]. It is also expected to be used in the Elonex ONE.

(Emphasis added)

This doesn't really answer your question and I will add another question to the discussion. Just how come a version of Linux is proprietary? Doesn't proprietary mean that you don't automatically get a license to use and/or distribute the software? This can not be the case with a Linux derivative since GPL v2 (the license of the kernel) allows everyone to use, modify and distribute it.

Re:

[CastrTroy (595695)]

While the source code for the kernel is GPL, the kernel doesn't do a whole lot on it's own. They could use the Linux kernel and basic xwindows, kde, or xfce, and load it to the brim with other proprietary software.

Re:Linos...

[Vectronic (1221470)]

Aslong as the proprietary only applies to distribution, im (somewhat) "ok" with it.

But if we start hearing about lawsuits and crap because some kid modded his Linos so he could do [whatever], this is not going to help "Linux". Because the articles "Bob Smith sentenced to a $1,000 fine for modding his Linos" just makes people scared of touching their OS.

it is Xandros

[dominux (731134)]

not quite sure why it was referred to as Linos, but I think that was an error.

Re:

[Nimey (114278)]

[citation needed]

Re:

[dominux (731134)]

the pre-production model that I borrowed for a week, and was shown at the Education show in Birmingham UK had Xandros on it. Sorry, this is original research, I can't cite anything.

How we have moved on

[Alain Williams (2972)]

Not very long ago we would have fallen off our chairs in disbelief at the choice in Linux powered laptops coming on to the market. We are now starting to greet them with ''Oh, another one.''.

Unfortunately: this hasn't happened yet (in a big way) in the corporate desktop market. That will happen next year -- as I have been predicting for the last 8 years.

Re:

[BrokenHalo (565198)]

Unfortunately: this hasn't happened yet (in a big way) in the corporate desktop market. That will happen next year -- as I have been predicting for the last 8 years.

OK. But that's only because the corporate market hasn't cottoned on to the fact that the rest of the world realised long ago that Windows is still not ready for the desktop, while Linux supports much more hardware "out of the box" and never bluescreens. Though I have to admit that those guys at Apple seem to do a reasonably good job of it, sin

Re:

[tepples (727027)]

But that's only because the corporate market hasn't cottoned on to the fact that the rest of the world realised long ago that Windows is still not ready for the desktop, while Linux supports much more hardware "out of the box" and never bluescreens.

Windows is still more ready for the 2008 gaming PC than Linux. As I understand it, Windows supports more 3D video cards in 2008 home PCs, more sound cards in 2008 home PCs, and more Wi-Fi cards in 2008 home PCs.

Re:How we have moved on

[njh (24312)]

There is a certain amount of "nobody got fired for buying IBM" in the corporate world which results in inertia.

Elonex ONE

[lobiusmoop (305328)]

Apparently the Elonex ONE is just a rebranded version of this system [blogspot.com], i.e. a digital photoframe with a keyboard/mouse and wifi grafted on (which is how they manage to keep the cost down).

Re:

[Vectronic (1221470)]

Indeed it does, and if I had to choose, I would choose that one, simply for the 800x480 display, which seems to be running at the same aspect ratio, if the Elonex has the same screen running at 640x480, no thanx... and because that article has pictures of it...

Re:

[TheRaven64 (641858)]

I don't know where TFA got the 640x480 from - the Elonex site says 800x480.

Re:

[dominux (731134)]

it does actually have the 800x480 screen. It is quite good, nice and bright, but behind a fairly thick perspex covering so it isn't particularly delicate.

Point of inflection

[Colin Smith (2679)]

Catastrophe theory etc.
 

Hideous design anyone?

[bgfay (5362)]

Two caveats: one, I have an Eee so I'm biased that way, and two, I have only looked at the Elonex site for about thirty seconds. But that thing is ugly! It looks like it would flop over on its top-heavy back all the time. Why is everything in the screen instead of under the keyboard? Is it to keep the heat off of little boys and girls baby producing parts?

That thing just looks weird.

Re:

[Constantine XVI (880691)]

How many laptops have you seen rendered useless because the connection between the screen and the rest of the machine snapped? I can guarantee you this one won't be.

Re:

[Dogtanian (588974)]

Two caveats: one, I have an Eee so I'm biased that way, and two, I have only looked at the Elonex site for about thirty seconds. But that thing is ugly!

Well, yeah, but it's just over half the price of the cheapest Eee PC (in the UK anyway), so it's hardly a fair comparison.

Yeah, I agree that it's not pretty, but for a hundred quid, you really *shouldn't* be expecting MacBook-shaming industrial design prettiness. It's aimed at kids, for ****'s sake!

Didn't Elonex Go Bust?

[Temeraire (913731)]

I thought Elonex (i.e. the north London PC makers we once bought from) went bust and were then bought from administration by someone else. Nothing wrong with that, except that New Elonex was reported in the press to be refusing to honour Old Elonex's warranties on the grounds that they were a different legal entity. Nothing illegal in that, but New Elonex's web site gives the impression of business continuity.
Could we perhaps ask New Elonex to clarify this point? Are they as honourable a b

Re:Didn't Elonex Go Bust?

[Dogtanian (588974)]

Well, since they bought the name, they probably want to benefit from the recognition of the old company, so they're not going to play up the fact that they're a legally different entity.

Brands are in truth increasingly meaningless these days. Take Polaroid for example. The original company went bankrupt a few years back, and the current "Polaroid" is a legally separate company that took over their business and the name. With the exception of film cameras (which they continued for a while, but I believe they've stopped doing now), almost all "Polaroid" products are made by third-party companies who've licensed the name and slapped it on some cheapass LCD TVs (or whatever) in an attempt to trade off the reputation of and goodwill towards the original Polaroid.

In other words, "Polaroid" is totally meaningless as a brand (in the traditional sense) nowadays.

What I don't understand is companies taking over names like "Time Computers". For those who don't know, Time are a UK company that's gone bankrupt and had its name bought at least twice, despite having a really manky reputation in all its incarnations. I guess that "brand recognition" has some value, no matter how bad the associations with that brand are.

Article has errors in it

[rcb1974 (654474)]

From TFA:

"Just like the Eee, the Elonex achieves cost savings by bundling freely redistributable open source software including, of course, the Linux operating system (specifically, Linos 2.6.21)"

Linux is just the kernel, GNU is the operating system.

From TFA:

"Unlike the Eee, however, the native resolution is a more regular (though narrower) 640x480 instead of the bizarre 640x400 ASUS offer."

This is false. I own the Asus Eee PC 701. It has a resolution of 800x480, not "640x400".

From TFA:

"Now, returning to hardware, although I commented on how much the ONE seems reminiscent of the Eee there are some differences. I already mentioned the resolution which while taller is narrower."

Again, this is false.

Re:

[nguy (1207026)]

Linux is just the kernel, GNU is the operating system.

GNU is just a bunch of command line utilities. According to the literal meaning, there is no more justification for calling it the "GNU operating system" than the "Linux operating system".

But, as any non-autistic person understands, language isn't limited to literal meanings anyway. Calling it the "Linux operating system" is an example of metonymy and is quite reasonable.

And, as such things go, it will probably still be called Linux long after the Lin

A solid company created distro could be the ticket

[rAiNsT0rm (877553)]

However, it won't be Elonex. Asus is my personal bet for the one company to take Linux to the true desktop. They have the advantage of being both hardware mfr. and Linux developers, they have great stuff from Apple using them as their vendor.

Linux has needed a single, unified, vision from the beginning to get past all o fthe choice/freedom crap and get on to a unified UI, a solid look and feel, and most importantly ONE of everything that is best in class and 100% working by default. Since the OSS community

Re:

[BrokenHalo (565198)]

Linux has needed a single, unified, vision from the beginning to get past all o fthe choice/freedom crap and get on to a unified UI, a solid look and feel, and most importantly ONE of everything that is best in class and 100% working by default. Since the OSS community will never agree to do this, a company is my only hope (as sad as that is). I'm wishing ASUS nothing but luck.

Fair enough, in a way I sort of agree, in the sense that Linux might be seen as a competitor to Windows as a marketable item. Howe

Re:

[Jorophose (1062218)]

both hardware mfr. and Linux developers
Yes, but their hardware quality, especially in comparaison to Gigabyte (by itself it's fine), has been in a rather harsh decline since the launch of S775/AM2.

Oh, they don't develop anything Linux/GPL IIRC. The linux distro on the eeePC is outsourced to Xandros, a shoddy company that puts my city's already crappy tech sector to shame. They were also one of the companies that signed a deal with MS, another reason to avoid them (Novell's turned out to be not too bad, the

Re:A solid company created distro could be the tic

[fritsd (924429)]

Linux has needed a single, unified, vision

Good idea! When will you have it ready for us? :-)

I'm joking. Linux has developed into an ecosystem, not just a single product, so why reduce it to that?

The people using Linux on their mobile phones, and those using it on their research supercomputers [top500.org] might disagree with your idea of optimizing it for the desktop only.

There's room for everyone.

Commoditization of Complements

[$random_var (919061)]

As Joel wrote [joelonsoftware.com], a good business strategy is to drive the price of the complements of your product down to commodity levels. Decreasing the cost of operating systems will make laptops more profitable, so a lot of the companies entering the subnotebook field will be stimulating linux (and other open source) development. We've already seen this from VIA; I can't wait to see if some big US brands start openly supporting linux development.

In a tossup between the EeePC and the One

[SurlyToad (932526)]

The Eee wins.

I considered the Elonex One for all of 5 minutes before rejecting it. Ok, I paid twice as much for my Eee, but it doesn't look like an ugly botched abortion with an even more obscure "version" of Linux than Xandros. And the overall spec of the Eee is light years above the One.

I've installed Xampp on the Eee with no problems and it makes a curiously engaging development and demonstration platform. I'd hate to try THAT with the One!

Removable keyboard is nice

[emj (15659)]

Elonex has a removable keyboard [slashdot.org], even though the lack of touch screen makes it less usefull. I really want to have one of these with out keyboard, because of the small form factor the keyboard becomes alot more conspicuous.

I've been using small Laptops since 2000 and the keyboard has always been an issue. Sure 90% of the time it doesn't matter, but sometimes it really is helpful to remove the keyboard.

varporware

[emj (15659)]

Though we haven't seen an updated to Elonex shopping page since march...

Re:

[hitmark (640295)]

while no touch screen, there is a nub and button on the back that makes it ideal for holding with the right or both hands and operate that way.

one finger on the nub, two others on the buttons.

The eightfold subnotebook

[m0llusk (789903)]

Wisdom
Right display and memory
Right system and applications

Ethical conduct
Right patching
Right networking
Right configuration

Concentration
Right keys and touchpad
Right backups
Right clamshell hibernate

Re:

[magus_melchior (262681)]

As long as Excel and Word macros are ubiquitously used and locked tightly (not to mention the piles of features built into both apps), Google Docs will have a very hard time prying open Microsoft Office's dominance. Businesses are so dependent on them, in fact, that it would be much more feasible and secure for them to tunnel VNC/Remote Desktop sessions through SSH or VPN and run software off a central application server.

Of course, the client machine doesn't need to be Windows, so herein is a tremendous opp

Re:

[CrazedWalrus (901897)]

As opposed to the wide variety of wireless drivers that Windows supports out-of-the-box without manufacturer software?

Hint: MS doesn't write wireless drivers, the manufacturers do. The fact that Linux has native, non-manufacturer drivers at all speaks well for it.

Linux is different for the sake of being better.

I love the smell of troll food in the morning.

Re:How to Become a Household Commodity

[colmore (56499)]

And users care about that distinction because...?

Unfortunately, I think there's a big uphill climb in getting people to accept a desktop.

OS X has gained a respectable amount of traction but there's something that linux evangelists forget:

In order to grab a mostly disinterested audience, you need to have the desktop stay 90% the same year after year after year.

It's not the 80s. Folks aren't used to learning a new using environment every time they buy a computer.

I'm the same, more or less. By doing just about everything I can, except web browsing, on bash, I ensure that when the big leap in whatever interface happens, I can just keep doing things exactly like I have.

The world was really excited to try out new desktop configurations around 1989. It's old news now and we really just want ot get back to work.

The linux for the clueless distributions need to settle on a much more consistant presentation.

Translation

[dallaylaen (756739)]

Windows works just fine, quit trying to be different for the sake of being different.

Hey, what the hell are you doing with those two sticks? Rubbing them against one another?.. Sheesh! Quit trying to be different and go eat raw meat! Everyone knows it's the *best* food one can get.

Re:FP

[by Anonymous Coward]

Dear AC,

You're just a wannabe who couldn't post a real GNAA troll is his life depended on it.

1. A real GNAA post takes the form of a press release, which is used to parody a recent issue in the news - it works best if it's recently been the subject of a story on /.. An example might be one entitled GNAA Announces Website Partnership with Barak Hosni Mubarak Saddam Hussein Obama Campaign and purporting to bear news of an agreement to allow the Obama campaign to use GNAA's botnet (triggered by Last Measure, which is to replace the current Obama Campaign home page) to inject Hillary "God, I wish I'd married a real man like Anal Cox" Clitdong and John MacOSXPain (and all their heterosexually brainwashed followers) with Holy Gay Nigger Seed via the intarwebs, etc., etc.

2. A successful GNAA post is a first post that's posted non-anonymously.

All you've done is post (most of) the standard GNAA coda as an AC, which is pathetic. It's not like there aren't heaps of examples at gnaa.us to get you started.

Have you even watched the movie? Geez.