Asus Eee PC: Windows XP, EEE PC 900 CPU
April 15, 2008
APC has taken a look at the “official” Asus Eee PCs that are now being sold with Windows XP, as well as a look at the Windows XP installation itself. They took a look at what was included, how fast it was, how much space was taken up by the installation (on a 4G model with a 4GB flash drive), and came to the conclusion that it was well done, but that the best Eee PC for Windows XP is…probably the larger 9-inch Asus Eee PC 900.
Speaking of the Eee PC 900, PCMarket.com.hk has posted a hands-on video at YouTube of the retail version of the Eee PC 900, including showing that it comes with the same Intel CPU that the Eee PC came with, as well as comparing to the 7-inch Eee PC. They also demonstrate the multi-touch touchpad/trackpad (similar to what some Apple laptops and others have), although it appears that it may only work under Linux for now.
Microsoft Windows XP: Around Until 2010
April 4, 2008
According to an Associated Press article, Microsoft Windows XP will be sticking around until at least 2010, due in large part to the rise of ultraportable laptops and notebooks, such as the Asus Eee PC.
Many of these low-cost ultraportables are lean when it comes to the hardware resources required to run Microsoft Windows Vista, and Microsoft acknowledged that yesterday:
Microsoft had planned to stop selling most versions of XP at the end of June 2008, with exceptions for small computer-building shops and PCs sold in developing countries.
But surprising demand in developed countries for what it calls ultra-low-cost personal computers prompted Redmond-based Microsoft to extend that deadline.
“There is incredibly strong demand for Windows on these devices, which is obviously great to hear,” said Michael Dix, a general manager for Microsoft’s Windows group. “The reason why they want Windows is, they think of Windows as being a real PC.”
- Full article at AP.Google.com
Asus Eee PC, Windows XP, and Best Buy
March 31, 2008
There are a couple of interesting articles on LAPTOP Magazine’s blog, concerning the Asus Eee PC.
First up: Hands-on with an Eee PC and Windows XP - The Windows XP version is going to be the same as the Eee PCs powered by the Xandros Linux distributions. Impressions were good, with a boot time of 40 seconds. They mentioned that three complaints they had earlier about the 7-inch ultraportables were video conferencing with the webcam, unable to load new applications easliy, and mobile broadband support, and that under Windows, all three issues were taken care of. However, a fairly serious issue arose, at least with the 4GB version = storage space on the Solid State flash-based drive - half of the space is taken up by Windows.
Next: Available at Best Buy in April. Asus told LAPTOP Magaizne that in the next few weeks, the Windows XP-powered version of the Asus Eee PC 4G will be available in US markets, including Best Buy, for $399. As mentioned above, these are identical to the Linux-powered versions.
Microsoft Windows 7 : Speech, Touch, Ink
February 20, 2008
Ina Fried has posted an article over on CNET about an interview that Bill Gates gave after a recent speech at Standford University.
He mentioned some very interesting things about the next version of Microsoft Windows - Microsoft Windows 7, to say the very least:
After decades of investing in things like speech technology and handwriting recognition, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said that users appear ready for new ways of interacting with machines. And, he said, advances in those areas and in touch-based gestures will find their way into the next version of Windows, known as Windows 7.
“The version after Vista is a big step forward in terms of speech,” Gates said in an interview following his speech at Stanford University. “It’s a big step forward in terms of ink. It’s a big step forward in terms of touch.”
Microsoft has already hinted that iPhone-like gestures are a part of the next Windows, and Gates said that touch-screen is likely to be the most broadly appealing of the new interfaces.
“The likelihood is that touch will become mainstream on certain form factors very quickly because we are working hand-in-hand with the hardware companies,” Gates told CNET News.com “Speech and ink it’s a little harder to say.”
The hardware is definitely driving this - with low-cost devices like the Asus Eee PC flirting with touchscreens, the iPhone (and other mobile phones on their way to market), etc, there will be a definite need for the software side of things.
Microsoft Windows XP SP3 - This Fall?
August 9, 2007
ZDNet is reporting on the testing of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3). It includes fixes for well over 900 problems (some of which can be fixed with hotfixes released after Service Pack 2 came out in 2004). ZDNet is reporting that SP3 might possibly come out later this year instead of 2008 as planned.
Excerpt from the article:
Microsoft confirmed that the new pre-beta XP SP3 build is real. (That’s more than the company is willing to do regarding the pre-beta builds of Vista SP1….) But company officials continued to decline to provide any more detailed information on when Microsoft will release a public beta of XP SP3 and/or when it is planning to release the final update.
“A pre-beta build of Windows XP SP3 was released to a select group of testers,” said a Microsoft spokeswoman, via e-mail. “We’re currently planning to deliver SP3 for Windows XP in the first half of CY2008. This date is preliminary, and we don’t have any more details to share at this time.”
This is interesting, as a lot of mobile users have stayed with Windows XP due to battery life issues that James Kendrick and others have discussed (in regards to Windows XP versus Vista).
Windows Vista Beta 2
May 24, 2006
CNET has a video review/preview if Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2.
PC Magazine has put together a special report of Windows Vista Beta 2, which it calls a “critical milestone on the release plan”.
There’s a lot of attention being paid to this beta, (it’s being unveiled in Seattle at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC)), because at this point the key features are pretty much locked in, and now it’s being tweaked and fixed in preparation for a launch either later this year or early next. Basically what you see now is going to be 95% of what you see when it launches, hence the interest.
Also, Microsoft is just weeks away from their general Customer Preview Program (CPP) release for Vista, where non-MSDN subscribers will be allowed to test it. You can read more about Vista here at Microsoft’s official website.
