Linux is becoming the king of netbooks

My netbook came with Linux. I got it because I didn't want to pay for an XP license on some tiny laptop I wouldn't be using much. However, my *intent* was to use Windows, so I wiped the Linux off it and put Win7 RC on it.

So I wonder how many people bought/are buying the Linux version to not pay more for Windows coming with it?

I doubt that 1/3 of all the netbook shipped with Linux are acutally used with Linux.

I think that may be possible for the future (Moblin, Chrome OS, Android, a tiny bit of Ubuntu), but I doubt that is reflects the reality of today.

... really closely up at the sky .. there should a squadron of flying mammals with curly tails

Linux could take over the netbook market, if only the Linux companies would release an actual version that the end user could install.

People get these things as gifts, with Window$. They want to change that, but can't.

7 attempts on 3 different system to create the Ubuntu Remix boot stick, and nothing reads their ISO. Fedora runs, but doesn't have the drivers. Mandriva won't release their version to the general public,only resellers.

It really is great that the little buggers can boot off their USB ports, but without something major to boot with, Linux will NOT gain the market share.

Windows will be around for years to come...

at least in france, you can ask for the removal of the OS when you buy a computer (and you get something between40-100euros back), so that's no a reason to ask a pc with linux just to put windows.

mine came with xp but I immediately removed that and installed freedos because it's not the memory hog all these new pretty os's are.

Wake up people, netbooks with Linux are popular because people will install pirate versions of Windows XP over it. Specially in emerging markets, where a Windows license costs the whole salary of a normal person, and yet people don't want to learn a new OS (Linux).

In response to:
"Mandriva won't release their version to the general public,only resellers."

Yes, I wanted to try the netbook version myself on my Gobook3, just to see what it was like... I've been using Linux "on the desktop" since 1994, and even I have yet to get Ubuntu to work 100% right (any version) ...Not a fan.

You do realize it's trivial to take the std Mandriva ONE CD make a USB stick verison? You might be surprised... Live "CD", so you can try it thorougly before install, or even just use it as is.(Runs pretty decent off a good/fast USB stick)

2010.0 seems to work quite well.

goes both ways
I got 4 computers here, all shipped with.. windows
all running linux (1 dual booting)
Its next to impossible to buy a computer without windows preinstalled here.

@Dr. K. E.
If the netbook comes with linux preinstalled, installing it isnt really an issue is it ?

I agree though its hit or miss on many machines, specifically notebooks, usually due to bios bugs, but then if the netbook is shipped with linux preinstalled then chances are good it will be able to boot any other linux distro without much problems

"Orr thinks that the Vole can now offer Windows Embedded CE or Windows Mobile, both of which already run on ARM, at a discount to netbook manufacturers."

Actually, several oem's are coming out with CE/Mobile ARM netbooks early next year.
One problem that Windows 7 is going to have competing against Linux is that Microsoft is charging $45 for Starter Edition. And the Intel chip set is going for $85 versus $20 for an ARM soc.

It gets even crazier if you break the 10.1 display limit. Then you need Home Premium and an Intel culv chip set for about $140 more than a comparable ARM and Linux machine.

I'm not denying it happens but clearly the people buying Linux netbooks just to use Windows are a minority. The additional cost of Windows is quite small and the idea of reinstalling an OS is scary to most people. Most people reading the Inq would be fine but that's just a tiny fraction of a % of people. All the comments about it being just pirates are just stupid.

I purchased a Linux based netbook and it still runs Linux. I also have a Dell laptop with a genuine Windows XP sticker on it than now runs Kubuntu. Not dual boot - Windows is completely gone and Kubuntu is the only os installed. There are many, many unused or double purchased Windows licenses out there. Don't feel sorry for MS because of a few pirates - MS is getting money no matter what we do (But I'm ever hopeful this will change).

In the parts of the world where piracy is most prevalent (Asia, East Europe) no one buys a computer because it has this or that OS. Most computer manufactures, including the biggest Western Brand Names, sell systems with no OS or with free DOS because they know the buyers will install their own pirated OS's and software.

I just bought a Sony BD Player that is set at the factory with absolutely no protection so will play all zones and pirated Blue Ray Discs. Nokia sells an unlocked Vodaphone 6730 here and all other brands do the same type of thing.

In this part of the world the people have stood up to the corporations and won!

It is true that most of netbook's that come with preinstalled Linux are unusable.
Asus is best example, and so MSI and many others.
Why ? because they produced the most unusable Distros ever.
On the other hand, Dell is good example of shipping usable Linux netbooks.
Anyway, all this "wiping Linux away" statements are suspicious.
First, most Linux netbooks shipped with inferior specs. If you customize them, they cost same or even MORE then equal Windows configuration.
Second, it is harder to find them.
On the other hand, "wiping windows away" is very common.
Just by looking around me, i see IBM T20, IBM X31, HP xw4300 with Windows licenses that never used. My parents have HP xw4400 and Sony VAIO both running Ubuntu despite Xp license stickers.
And the last one is my girlfriend's laptop with Vista license which is currently going through post install updates of Sabayon.
I have to admit that I do have one Windows 7 installation (dual boot with Gentoo) for gaming.
It came from my employer for free, otherwise I would wait for some bonus sticker from HW purchase.
Now, this Mr Orr probably a wise guy, but not a tech guy.
Windows mobile and CE is not compatible with desktop versions. There is no "Photoshop" or "MS Office" for these OSs. Your favored Windows apps won't run on them. Most of proprietary software (that you expect) currently won't run on ARM.
So it's pointless to ship netbooks/smartbooks with them.
On the other hand, ALL open source software that come with Debian, Ubuntu, Gentoo will run on ARM. It is already.
The newcomers form "emerging markets" don't care about OS. They never used Windows. And the maintenance penalty of Linux is much lower. Once installed, it will run. Updates ? Click "Install updates". Upgrade to newer release ? Click "upgrade to".
New machine ? move your HDD or use disk image software of your choice. and never lose your settings, favorites, history etc.
My primary desktop probably still has some settings going back ~7 years. And i can't remember all the HW and distro changes. It started with P4 (pre 478 socket) and 32bit Debian. Now it is water cooled C2Q on SSD with 64bit Gentoo.
IMHO Windows is a toy. and my use of it is for gaming. I still prefer PC gaming over PS3.

" PIRATE of course

Wake up people, netbooks with Linux are popular because people will install pirate versions of Windows XP over it. Specially in emerging markets, where a Windows license costs the whole salary of a normal person, and yet people don't want to learn a new OS (Linux).
posted by : Matias, 06 November 2009"

I hope you have proof of that assertion. If not, crawl back under the rock you came up from before I wash your thong with lime soap.

People chose Linux because they hear that it is much safer than Windows and want to protect their computer's content from malware. They also went through the pain of OS upgrades every few days without being any safer from hackers and sometimes they lost their content because of one of those updates.

Microsoft should be erase from the pages of time...

I hope you have proof of that assertion. If not, crawl back under the rock you came up from before I wash your thong with lime soap.

People chose Linux because they hear that it is much safer than Windows and want to protect their computer's content from malware. They also went through the pain of OS upgrades every few days without being any safer from hackers and sometimes they lost their content because of one of those updates.

Microsoft should be erase from the pages of time...

posted by : Michel_Tr, 07 November 2009

I hope you have proof of that assertion. If not, crawl back under the rock you came up from before I wash your thong with lime soap.

People wiped out Linux from those netbooks and install Windows XP because they hears that Windows XP let them do more things without having to edit xorg.conf just to use Linux with the monitor's native resolution (happened to me). Not to mention the sure-fire way to hose a computer (netbook or a desktop) bu just running apt-get upgrade to upgrade to the latest shiny version of a distro, which will cause users to lose their data and content.

Linux should be erase from the pages of time...

HAHAHAHAHA

waaa I can't get Mandriva .. waaa they didn't release it .. and so on

Care to explain why it is freely available here?
http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=05749

Some other FUD meister blathered on about not being able to get Linux to boot from a thumb drive?! (musta been high)
LISTEN UP! Its trivial to get several flavors of Linux to boot from a thumb drive .. and a LOT of work if you want to get WinDOS to do the same.

Most Live CDs of Linux have a menu option to install themselves to a USB stick, Ubuntu, Mint, PCLinuxOS .. and so on. BUT if you can't be bothered to download and burn your FREE OS go and get UnetBootin, IT will make Linux, FreeDOS and other OSes into Bootable USB devices, it even does the downloading. http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

Linux and netbooks just fits. Users want a secure system, fast boot, going www, and play their music and videos. Linux based distros can do this and more. So no need for Windows.

Your comments regarding people putting Windows on them is speculative at best. I would propose that those of us with a little more computer knowledge than the average Joe/Jane actually picked Linux because the system requirements to run most software are significantly reduced. I stripped the Asus version of Xandros off because I prefer a regular desktop. EEEbuntu works great out of the box ISO with no tweaks. Those who revel in the MS past will be chained like puppets to the Vole for life.

This is a longwinded way of me saying "People buy Windows based netbooks to run Linux on."

I tend to dual boot my systems. I bought a Samsung NC10 netbook on, complete with Windows XP.

I resized the XP partition and installed Ubuntu 9.04 on it. It installed with no problems. However, if a friend asks me about using Linux, I volunteer to do the install for them.

I only bought the NC10 after 1) a lot of research and 2) seeing a lot of people at the Tyneside Linux User Group had put Linux on their systems. That way, if I failed to install Linux I had people to fall back on.

No one has presented factual evidence that Linux isn't used after purchasing Linux based netbooks and having Windows installed--just some anecdotal stories by The Inquirer readers.

Yes, there will be a large number of people on this website that will wipe and use a free Win7 RC, but that will expire. Yes, you can then go out and pay another $100 (or a 3rd the price of the netbook) to add Windows again. But who cares, as those people are not the users that buy Linux netbooks?

Currently, Linux holds about 4-5 percent of the OS market and it is growing. There's a lot of room for growth. Microsoft estimates that there are 1 billion Windows installs worldwide. That means that the known Linux installs comes to between 40 and 50 million. The number of unknown installs is roughly that much or more.

In my shop I have more Linux installs that are used than there are Windows or OS X installs. Roughly there are 14 Linux boxes and about 8 Windows boxes with XP, Vista, and Win7. I find that Linux does everything I need and more and that there is no reason to purchase any more Microsoft licenses. My Win7 comes as a free gift. Oh, and those of you that bought the Ultimate Win7 got ripped off.

That means that Linux has nearly 100 million installs worldwide. Given the advance in the netbook market share and the advancement of products like android and the Google Linux OS, we should expect another 10 to 20 million in the next near or so. That's over 100 million. It is a great market share and it easily exceeds that of Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 combined--where the market they were in is much smaller but it was a big deal--meaning 100 million is more than adequate market share for any business to be profitable.

Sometimes the problems are with the USB sticks. I'm fairly experienced with Linux, running it since ~1995, currently on 4 machines + VMs. This weekend I installed eeebuntu on a eeepc 901 via a USB stick without any problems except that the Sandisk Cruzer I was using appears as 2 distinct disks - 1 is a read-only disk with windows software - the other is the expected 8 GB read/write. The Asus BIOS saw them as two distinct drives with IDENTICAL names so I needed to get the correct one by trial & error. I put the .iso file onto the stick using unetbootin-linux. Hope this helps somebody

After few days I was dissapointed with XP performance on my Asus EEE 1000 so I tried Ubuntu EEE. Using it more than a year already.

My Eee 900 came with XP (the XP version had a larger SSD, and a webcam.) I never even booted XP.
I immediately put EasyPeasy (formerly Ubuntu Eee) on it, booting from a USB stick. Everything works out of the box.

"People wiped out Linux from those netbooks and install Windows XP because they hears that Windows XP let them do more things without having to edit xorg.conf just to use Linux with the monitor's native resolution (happened to me)."

Then you did something wrong.
Modern Linux versions don't require to edit any config files. They find out all these things automatically.
In fact, the latest X server doesn't even have an xorg.conf anymore.
Time for you to stop using the old myth of Linux being complicated to use...