Linux And Unix Devices Popular On Amazon's 'Best of '07' List

christian.einfeldt writes "Computers and handheld devices running default GNU Linux or Unix OSes have swept Amazon's 'best of' list for 2007, according BusinessWire.com for 28 December 2007. Best selling computer? The Nokia Internet Tablet PC, running Linux. Best reviewed computer? The Apple MacBook Pro notebook PC. Most wished for computer? Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch PC mobile Internet device, which comes with Xandros Linux pre-installed. And last, but not least, the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook notebook PC."

A matter of time

[bmartin]

It's simply a matter of time before Unix-based operating systems become the de-facto standard in portable electronics. Companies may be able to leverage their skills in their native markets (i.e., MS on the PC), but the portability of Linux makes it a no-brainer for royalty-free devices. FOSS's agnostic approach to interfacing with other technologies makes it ideal in attaining the interoperability desired by consumers. Let's share our good ideas so that others may benefit from them.

I, for one, welcome our new agnostic overlords.

Asus Eee to equal Mac sales in 2008

[Anonymous Coward]

Asus is now planning to build 5 million Eee PCs in 2008. That is equal to Apple's Mac production.

Together with Linux server sales, this will push the Linux X86 market share far above that of Apple.

How about the OLPC?

[Anonymous Coward]

As far as I can tell, the olpc blows the Nokia internet tablet pc out of the water.

The trouble with Amazon is that it will naturally focus on stuff you can buy. Here is Groklaw's review of the olpc. http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071223132431291 [groklaw.net]

My gripe with the Nokia is battery life. My wife's Blackberry goes for days without charging. It has a keyboard (sort of). The Nokia is reported as getting only a couple of hours under heavy use.

Apparently the buy one, give one, program for the olpc is available until the end of the year. I'm sorely tempted. Of course it runs linux and even its bios is open source. The only thing holding me back is two kids in university. AARGH!

Re:EEEPC...

[petermgreen]

half a gig of ram is easilly enough for XP to run pretty smoothly provided it is not loaded down with crap. The CPU is slow by todays standards but not that slow by the standards of when XP came out.

The impression I get is that the big name linux desktops (kde and gnome) are just as bloated if not more so than XP.

Re:Asus Eee very popular in Australia

[Anonymous Coward]

It's the ideal combination of small, light, affordable, silent. Finally we have a true 'notebook' computer, not the luggable laptops that people are used to.

Having linux makes it very easy to use (much better than the iBook). No wonder it's sold out everywhere. Everyone who sees the device instantly wants one.

Especially after they learn it's half the cost of a 'big white iBox'

Re:Asus Eee to equal Mac sales in 2008

[MichaelSmith]

Unfortunately, everyone I know who has bought one (around five people) has installed XP on it. I'd guess lots of others are doing the same.

Have a look at the post count on eeeuser [eeeuser.com]. Posts about windows installs are significant but not overwhelming.

Giving vs. gifting

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "...the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook notebook PC."

Is it just me, or is the use of "to gift" a recent development of holiday commercialization? I could swear I never heard that as a kid; now everything is about "gifting" rather than "giving". I suppose "giving in the spirit of Christmas" is too non-specific: it could mean giving to charity, or giving one's time at a senior center. No, it has to be "gifting", because that can mean only one thing: a piece of merchandise that one must purchase. It's hard to find an ad with the word "giving" anymore.

Do consumers know?

[T-Bone-T]

Those devices may run unix or Linux, but how many people even know that? Wouldn't a typical consumer see that a device does what they want and looks good without regard to the OS? I doubt that many Nokia owners know their tablet runs Linux.

Re:At last, and end to "Year of the Linux Desktop"

[wytcld]

Yup. And even for the long-time Linux desktop user, the Eee is seductively useful. I've no use for full-sized laptops, which are big and heavy enough that I still end up sitting as if at a desktop. The Eee, by contrast, handles like a paperback book, which allows getting much more comfortable - a comfort that for many uses makes up for the loss of a large desktop screen. I'd been using a Zaurus clamshell (pocket sized) for a couple of years for note taking and remote sysadmin in a pinch. But it wasn't quite enough for full use. The Eee, though, has a screen just large enough (with very good color and brightness) and a keyboard that, while small, a well-over-6-foot guy like finds just fine for touch typing. Plus, when you want to use standard *nix utilities, the Linux versions (most Debian stuff installs fine on this) are far better featured than those that come with OS X. This is a brilliant product, and would be at twice the price.