The Future of Portable Linux Distros 107
i_want_you_to_throw_ sends in a Tech Radar piece about the various portable Linux distributions, focusing on operating systems like Android, Chrome OS, and Ubuntu Netbook Remix. The article compares the distributions designed for similar purposes and discusses where they will likely go in the future.
"As UNR is built on Ubuntu, it's highly likely that we'll see almost as many UNR respins as we have for the parent distribution. We've already seen one example in Jolicloud, and we'd put money on many community distributions, such as Linux Mint or Crunchbang offering a UNR overhaul alongside their standard desktop installations. It's also likely that Canonical will be able to forge stronger relationships with companies like Dell, which is already shipping a specific version of UNR on its Mini 9 platform. As Windows XP is phased out and the cost of bundling Windows 7 rises, manufacturers will be looking for a cheap and easily maintainable netbook OS, and UNR fits the bill admirably."
Re:crazy moon man language (Score:3, Informative)
UNR--Ubuntu Netbook Remix. This is straight from the summary, bless your illiterate soul.
XP--Nobody actually knows what this stands for, but you can call it Windows 5.1 if that makes you feel better.
OS--Operating System.
You're welcome.
Re:Missing ones (Score:5, Informative)
Maemo and the N900 are on page four of TFA. [techradar.com]
Re:crazy moon man language (Score:4, Informative)
XP--Nobody actually knows what this stands for, but you can call it Windows 5.1 if that makes you feel better.
Straight from the horse's mouth found via Wikipedia:
The XP name is short for "experience," symbolizing the rich and extended user experiences Windows and Office can offer by embracing Web services that span a broad range of devices. [microsoft.com]
Re:The dream lives on (Score:3, Informative)
The geek quotes list for Office and forgets every other legitimate distribution channel known to man.
Not really, I mentioned you can get it pre-installed. I've been a beneficiary of MSDN-AA inter alia in the past, too. But your point was this hypothetical user has a bunch of software at home they can just load up on their netbook, not that they have to go out and buy again.
Chances are if they have Word on their home desktop or other laptop, it's an OEM copy that came will their Dell or whatever. Not easy to load on the netbook, and the licensing is questionable. Besides, netbooks are supposed to be cheap. What's the point of spending $250 then spending another 20% of that to repurchase Windows programs you already own? I don't think people actually do this.
iTunes. Games.
If you use iTunes for play music, there are plenty of alternatives. There are also plenty of alternatives that allow for iPod syncing with the majority of iPods in the wild. If you have an iPhone or Touch, maybe you're right, I don't know what the status of those is. Of course if you aleady have one, it's probably already synced to your primary machine, in which case it's not an issue.
I mentioned games, and pointed out that any serious Windows-only game probably wouldn't be fun to play on a netbook. Any FPS on a 10" screen would suck. Do people really purchase netbooks to carry around and play old games available on Steam? Seems unlikely. I see them playing Flash games.
H.264 hardware-accelerated video.
You're probably right, for now - though I don't know how many current Atom-based netbooks actually have this. Also, pretty much every recent ARM-based prototype sports this. Also, anyone know if Microsoft is lifting the hardware limits for Netbooks running Win 7? I believe for the OEM XP license most netbooks came with, manufacturers were limited to 1 GB RAM among other things. I wonder if a Win 7 OEM license for a machine with a decent graphics chip is more expensive to the manufacturer...