Acer announces a dual boot netbook

LAPTOP MAKER Acer will release a dual boot netbook in the hope that it will entice users to ditch Microsoft's Windows.

The Aspire One AOD255, first shown at this year's Computex, will feature Google's Chrome operating system along with Microsoft's Windows XP.

The hardware specifications of the AOD255 are pretty standard netbook fare, with a 10.1-inch screen, an Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.

Shipping netbooks with multiple operating systems should allow for better alternatives to Microsoft's Windows to finally reappear on the pint sized devices. Although Asus initially loaded its EeePCs with Linux, Microsoft managed to barge in and get vendors to load its operating system, with the majority of netbooks now sold shipping with a crippled version of Windows.

Though netbooks might come loaded with Windows, users do have the ability to install Linux, with dedicated distributions aimed at netbook users. Canonical's Ubuntu Netbook Edition has proven to be a popular choice, marrying ease of use with the security, speed and stability of the Linux kernel.

Acer has said that the AOD255 will be priced at $375 (£235) though did not announce when the netbook will be available. µ