Asus Set To Release Desktop Eee PC Variant 171
the_leander writes "The Register has pictures of the desktop version of Asus's Eee PC, reportedly called the 'Ebox.' It will be released early next month after it has been unveiled publicly at Computex in Taipei on June 3. It'll come equipped with the same Xandros Linux distribution as the Eee, though it's likely that Windows XP will be available also. But given the probable choice for CPU, Atom, ithe Ebox is unlikely to allow for the use of Vista, unless you're something of a masochist. It's expected to retail for $200-$300."
Re:Why's it so... flash? (Score:5, Interesting)
Linux distro called ebox (Score:1, Interesting)
http://ebox-platform.com/ [ebox-platform.com]
Mythfrontend box (Score:5, Interesting)
Wow... (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, if it is slim and small enough I can clearly think of several nice uses. It's a perfect living room pc, a kitchen computer ( I dont want my mom to get my laptop dirty when browsing recipes ), a car pc (someone would definitely do this), what else.. ohhh.. and a beowulf cluster, imagine a server rack of these..
I doubt this will take off like the EEE (Score:5, Interesting)
So Asus will find it very hard to push these desktops unless they race to the bottom. Which might rule out Windows XP as well.
Inside Keyboard? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Why's it so... flash? (Score:5, Interesting)
People won't just buy it for its price or features, they'll also buy it for the wow factor. If the production cost difference is minimal, why not go the extra distance?
Where I am, the EeePC is outselling other competitors (Classmate, Astone UMPC) precisely because of that. Sure, it's pricier, but you won't get embarrassed whipping it out in a café.
Looks like the EBox was designed to look like a Wii.
Re:Why's it so... flash? (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, I think also tried their hand at beige box PCs. I had a couple of hand me downs which were not quite to atx spec, though for the life of me I don't remember the issue. Going cheap isn't going to do a company any good if no bugger buys it.
Re:Redundant department of redundancy... (Score:5, Interesting)
You must have missed the memo, but Microsoft does not want you to be able to buy XP anymore. Everyone is supposed to move to Vista. So it is *most definitely* newsworthy if manufacturers are introducing *new products* a year and a half (!!) after Vista has been released to the public, *and they explicitly do not support the newest Microsoft OS at all*, although they do support the previous version - even though you're not even supposed to be able to buy that version anymore, at least not without jumping through all kinds of hoops. Hello? I consider this to be extremely newsworthy.
The EEE Laptops run Ubuntu just fine. I would be very surprised if these desktop versions wouldn't. Whether you could turn them into a Hackintosh is kindof a moot point IMO, but probably you could, at least if OS X happens to support the specific hardware they used. Please "get the facts" first next time, thanks.
Re:Why not just buy a Mac Mini? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Redundant department of redundancy... (Score:4, Interesting)
It's also worth looking at customer satisfaction, as indicated by the customer reviews. Each of the Apple machines has a review average of 4.5/5 starts; the EEEPC has a review average of 5/5; the first Vista PC has a review average of 3/5. Not only are the non-Vista laptops selling very well, but the people who buy them are happier with what they get for their money - both at the high end and at the low end.
Re:Redundant department of redundancy... (Score:2, Interesting)
It does however make you wonder then why Asus seems to be going out of it's way to not offer Vista over XP.
When this device was previewed in January it was made abundantly clear that XP would be the only Microsoft option offered.
If it's not due to technical reasons (I'll take your word on the fact that a low power cpu will allow for a graceful experience with Vista), perhaps cost?
Re:Redundant department of redundancy... (Score:4, Interesting)
For the record, I use Debian and for an EEE PC I would recommend to consumers to use the Linux version.
Fighting fire with fire (Score:5, Interesting)
Sure, but it might save your life. Read about it in this book [gutenberg.org]. When you are downwind from a big fire, set fire to the grass in front of you, then walk into the burned patch.
Define "few" years, please. I started using Linux in 1995 with the Yggdrasil "plug and play" distribution. At that time it was more or less like what the Microsoft shills claim, but still I was able to install and run it in less than an hour, without any outside help. Google didn't exist at the time and I had never met anyone who had ever used Linux.
Compared to that, at about the same period it took me nearly a week and several consultations with other people until I got Windows 95 to run on the same machine. The hardware drivers had to be carefully configured and installed in a precise sequence to boot windows 95, even though it had been running windows 3.11 before. So, even if Linux was in an extremely primitive state for the common user at the time, it wasn't any more difficult to install and configure than windows.
For normal use today, I think Linux with KDE is easier to use than XP (I have never tried Vista). For one thing, the "K" or "Start" menu is nicely organized, divided by application type instead of by software provider. Also, It's much easier to search and install software: click on "Add/Remove programs", search by keyword, click on "install" and "apply changes", and that's it. And copy/paste is easier too: select with the mouse, middle-click to paste. One handed, no need to CTRL-C, CTRL-V. And so on, etc, etc.
Now, if you think it's off-topic to mention Vista in a discussion about Linux, think again: why is it that Linux is mentioned 177000 times in the Microsoft website [google.com]? It's always on-topic to mention the alternatives, of course.