When ASUS released the first Eee PC in 2007 the focus was on shipping small and cheap computers made for simply tasks like browsing and reading e-mails. A concept that later became the netbook. Then Eee PC shipped with a Linuxdistro called Xandros, but it never got the public approval. ASUS will make another attempt with the netbooks using Ubuntu.
Eee PC stopped shipping with Linux mainly becase the high number of users that returned them, but also that Intel and Microsoft teamed up to form strict guide lines for what a netbook had to be capable of, and if it didn’t live up to the guide lines you didn’t get the Intel Atom discount and Windows license.
ASUS has now decided to give Linux another shot with three Eee PCs: 1001PXD, 1011PX and 1015PX, which all ship with Intel Pine Trail where the computers will cost between 180 and 270€. The choice of operating system for ASUS is Canonicals Ubuntu 10.10, and this time it hopes to offer a more userfriendly solution than Xandros did. The reason it chose 10.10 is most likely for the long support, and perhaps a little because it still uses Gnome as the interface.
ASUS Eee PC 1015PX with dual-core Atom processor, soon shipping with Ubuntu 10.10
ASUS says that it has not done any major changes to the operating system, besides installing the best of free software and integration to the cloud. ASUS also told The Inquirer that many more Eee PC models will ship with Ubuntu later on. Ubuntu is a much more resource friendly operating system than Windows and is better for netbooks that way, and we can only wait and see how ASUS’ new venture will unfold, or if it just a strategy to negotiate for better prices?
