Linux For Housewives. XP For Geeks. 511
Talinom writes "ZDNet has an article sure to raise the hackles of any self-respecting geek. They report that housewives buying small laptops like the Asus EE are causing Linux usage for that demographic to spike. A reporter for Tech-On states that 'Retailers and contract manufacturers in Taiwan say that novice PC users there, like students and housewives, tend to buy the Linux version of the Eee PC701, while geeks go for Windows XP.'"
It's BECAUSE geeks are more saavy... (Score:2, Interesting)
Most geeks realize that Windows for a few dollars extra (or the same price) is worth it, even if you're not a fan of Windows.
I wonder if they've gotten these things to successfully dual boot. Yes, I realize there's not a whole lot of disk memory, but you can add more, no? Even if it's plugged into an external SD slot?
My girlfriend has got an eee (Score:5, Interesting)
It's a No Brainer! :-) (Score:5, Interesting)
Housewives are used to getting the products that have the best cost-benefit ratio.
The Eee is a machine that provides wireless web browsing and email, instant messaging, etc.
And it's cheaper without XP.
It's a no-brainer then.
As for why do geeks prefer XP? I can speak for myself and say that I thoroughly know the beast, it is a pleasure to google for the most wild assed software/driver you can think of and find that due to the widespread presence of the thing, pretty sure SOMEONE has gone through the same ordeal as you, and has posted a workaround.
It works, and given current hardware configurations and provided that you configure it properly, it is FAST.
I know it is light years away from an elegant OS from an academic's point of view, but I rather have XP on an Eee and be open to all the possibilities of interaction with other peripherals (oh, how our choice of words reveal one's age) than spending time tweaking linux.
Yes and? (Score:5, Interesting)
I bough the 701 4G a few months ago. My father in law liked it so much, and after hearing the price, ordered two for his kids: 4yo and 12yo. (Kids from his second wife: I'm not married to a 4yo or 12yo).
Anyway, I'm surprised to hear the geeks take the XP version. I'm actually quite happy with the default Xandros install. It even has perl, ruby and python for crying out loud!
Year Of the Linux Desktop (Score:5, Interesting)
I guess that instead of the year of the linux desktop we should be celebrating the year of the linux laptop
Funny, Considering the fact that Linux + laptops used to be one of the biggest headaches in the world.
Re:Reasoning? (Score:2, Interesting)
I wouldn't say anyone (sane) would buy an eeePC for anything but retro gaming. My guess would be that for what an eeePC is built to do, the OS is not a differentiating factor for Ms. Housewife. She doesn't give a damn (as you say). And if it's a few bucks cheaper and does the same stuff, she's going to buy it.
A "geek" may realize that he's getting a nice discount on the XP model (getting XP and 4G SD card for $68 incremental dollars equivalent).
Re:Not sure it applies here as much (Score:5, Interesting)
Taiwan culture is not US culture, of course.
Maybe not, but the UK is much more similar, and I've stood in a Dixons store here and listened to the salesman talking to a novice about the EeePC on display, explaining its OS as "Linux is low powered and suitable for a beginner."
Granted, Dixons aren't the only people selling EeePCs, but they are definitely targetting EeePC at the less technically savvy.
Not that XP is geekier (Score:4, Interesting)
I can think of several reasons a geek might get XP while preferring Linux. A job that lets you telecommute but doesn't supply a notebook or a Linux-friendly way on to the VPN. Getting locked into XP through years of acquiring familiar apps and tools. Shelling out cash on specialty hardware before checking Linux compatibility. Pouncing on the chance to snap up XP just to hedge their bets before they can only count on finding Vista. And then there's always the people who intend to dual-boot. You'll see them buying XP, then they'll get Linux without alerting the media.
TFA article is pretty clear on why the housewife wants the Linux Eee PC. But it doesn't even tell you what they meant by "geek" - fondness for games? already uses more than two programs that didn't come on a computer? computer literacy? - much less offer any reasoning.
Re:Year Of the Linux Desktop (Score:2, Interesting)
EEE, the new iPod? (Score:4, Interesting)
If you haven't tried an EEE and are surprised by the idea of non-geeks using Linux, you should try one with the default setup. A few people I know that were never particularly adept at figuring stuff out in Windows, people that definately don't qualify as geeks, have been picking up the cheapest EEE to use for web browsing and music playing. Then, all of a sudden, they started doing things like switching to the full desktop mode, adding new applications, doing what they have to to get the EEE to support what they want to do.
I'm no UI designer, that's for sure, but there is definately something about the EEE's flavor of linux that has gotten a lot of non-computer types to delve into really learning about and customizing their OS. That's not the case with everybody obviously, but in general there is a level of accessibility in the EEE's setup that seems to just make people happy.
Re:Not sure it applies here as much (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:BLASPHEMY! (Score:3, Interesting)
Exactly. They also like the speed. The last thing they want to do is wait for Windows to load, defrag for an hour, update the antivirus, and then start using facebook...
Re:Hmm.. (Score:3, Interesting)
I tend to agree, to a certain point. I've been watching the netbook market pretty closely over the last several months. A large majority (not all) have better hardware specs on their windows systems than the linux systems (usually because windows requires more). It would not surprise me to see the Geeks buying the system with better hardware and re-installing with whatever OS they fancy.
Re:EEE, the new iPod? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not sure it applies here as much (Score:3, Interesting)
Aside from MSN working fine in linux, you should note that MSN has become the number 1 platform specifically because microsoft set out to build a monopoly with it, so they could manipulate you into exactly the position you just claimed. There were already perfectly decent messenging platforms before MSN, so their intent is obvious.
Re:My girlfriend has got an eee (Score:4, Interesting)
For a housewife...
The OS is already installed, actually installing it isn't something the housewife wants to do.
Additional apps are already installed with the Linux version, XP has a far more limited set of apps... The housewife may or may not want to use those apps.
If she does need additional apps which aren't included by default, which is far more likely with XP, the process to acquire them is much easier in Linux (load up the package manager, select the apps from a list and let them install) as opposed to the XP method or either buying physical media (and reading it with what, these small laptops lack optical drives) or downloading it (from where? cant expect a housewife to search for apps and download them in confidence, especially since she has always been told not to download and run things from the internet), and then manually run the installer, keep hitting next a few times, and once installed try to find out where it is (often in a subsection of the start menu labelled by the program vendor which you can't expect users to know, rather than being categorised by function or even the program's name)
Re:BLASPHEMY! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not sure it applies here as much (Score:4, Interesting)
Spending the better part of a decade as a computerist in Asia has led me to the conclusion that most "geeks" there are pretty lightweight. Of course there are many exceptions among Asia's 2 billion people, but by and large, those who fancy themselves computer boffins tend to be content with installing pirated software on Windows, and most of them couldn't program their way out of a paper bag. Per capita, geek culture in Europe and the Americas is a whole lot more interesting and impressive.
Part of this is probably a result of the widespread piracy in the region. The financial incentive that draws some to Linux elsewhere doesn't really exist there. Also, Chinese and its satellites are follower cultures, and it's not so common to do things that are truly strange or new.
You stood in a Dixons? (Score:5, Interesting)
True story, I once worked with an ex-Dixon's manager who admitted they looked for ignorant and easily cowed staff because they could exploit them, whereas the technically capable could easily get better weekend jobs somewhere else. Of course, you can guess the kind of managers they employ.
Geeks can install Linux over it (Score:2, Interesting)
Geeks want the XP version because the harddrive is larger.
Then one can install linux on top of that machine and keep the larger drive.
Re:Yes and? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm actually quite happy with the default Xandros install.
I keep wanting to dislike its Playschool interface, but I just can't. Almost every program I'd want to run on a tiny, net-oriented laptop is preinstalled with a big icon, and my "Favorites" tab has everything I actually use on a regular basis. I've installed "advanced mode" so I can have a full-blown KDE session, but once I loaded it to verify that it actually works, I went back to "simple mode".
But Firefox 3, oh how you're wanted.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:BLASPHEMY! (Score:4, Interesting)
A year down the line and it does what she wants it to do. It boots, gives her access to the internet, comes with a thousand solitaire games, recognized the HP printer/scanner without drivers, and comes with a basic word processor.
A switch to gmail allowed her to control her spam problem she had with lycos, and gave her an ultra-basic IM capability in the process.
It is surprising that the year of Linux on the Desktop came not for the geeks and power-users, but for joe luser. Linux + a small, cheap laptop really does make for a "computer as an appliance" setup.
Re:BLASPHEMY! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:BLASPHEMY! (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, I had to wipe my HP tablet. Then I found out HP puts the crapware on the install disk, too! Ugh.
I reinstalled it using the Vista Home Premium DVD that came with my Dell desktop (ironically), and now it runs smooth as silk. And as an added bonus, when I go to System -> Properties, Vista thinks it's running on a Dell.
I'm sure as hell never buying HP again. I knew to expect the crapware, but I didn't expect that much of it, not by a long shot-- and putting the crapware on the install DVD was just icing on the cake. Dell for me from now on.
Re:BLASPHEMY! (Score:2, Interesting)
I'd bet $10 the reason the linux versions are more popular isn't because housewives have become educated about linux/windows - but its about which one is cheaper with the same features.
Re:My girlfriend has got an eee (Score:1, Interesting)
A couple years ago, my gf's sisters hard drive crashed and windows wouldnt boot. Dell or whoever said they would send a new hard drive and it would get there in 3 weeks or so.
In the meantime, I just gave her a knoppix CD and told her she might be able to browse the web with it. She's not really tech savvy at all. Well, about two weeks later I saw her again at her house and she was playing MP3's that were saved to her HD (the one windows wouldnt boot off of), working on a report she had saved to her hard drive, browsing the internet, chatting on AIM, playing one of those second rate linux games, etc. etc. When the new hard drive came, I dont think she even bothered installing it for a while.
Re:My girlfriend has got an eee (Score:2, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:BLASPHEMY! (Score:3, Interesting)
I've got an EEE running the stock Linux. When it comes to OSes, my preference is not having to care. My EEE runs Firefox, and it runs rdesktop to turn it into a remote terminal for my Windows box at work. That's all it ever runs. I'm sure XP would do those too, but probably slower and more expensively.
For the things an EEE is good for for most people, you don't have to care what the OS is, so most people take linux because it's cheaper. If you're actually doing something on an EEE where you have to care what the OS is, you've got to be a geek.