[PLUG] Lindows Mobile PC

[Brent Rieck]

On Thu, 2003-02-20 at 11:23, AthlonRob wrote:
> As for the pricetag - it ain't that great.  Here I sit, typing on a
> 1.8GHz Pentium4 laptop with 256MB of RAM, a 14.1" display, a 20GB hard
> drive, 24X CD-ROM drive, integrated LAN and modem, 16MB GeForce2Go
> graphics chip, and a floppy drive (it plays BattleField 1942) I got on
> sale for $706.  I dare say, this system could run twice as fast in any
> benchmark as that Lindows machine.

Not everybody wants to run BattleField 1942 on their laptop, in fact I
never have.  I think this laptop fits a nice niche for some people:
folks that don't want to lug around a 7 pound monstrosity, or even a 4
pound laptop.

I've got an old Sony z505 that I would NEVER trade for one of those
giant computers that happen to fold up and that people call laptops.  I
regularly carry mine around and I'm not bothered by its weight - I never
have to decide whether to take it with me or not, I just take it.  I had
to carry around a friend's 12" iBook for a day and that extra 1.5lbs
made a difference.

> Then the price comparisons.... they list an NEC with a 900MHz P3 for
> $2200.  Ummmm... I don't think NEC, or anybody else for that matter,
> sells laptop with 900Mhz Pentium 3 chips in them.  Those prices are
> *way* outdated... so much so it ain't even funny.

In the ultralight laptop realm it's _not_ uncommon to find sub GHz
CPUs.  I imagine it's because they don't have 2 pounds to waste on a
battery just to power Intel's latest and greatest.  Lindows is using the
VIA chip because of its low power characteristics too I'd imagine.  And
those prices are not outdated - $800 is an excellent price for an
ultralight laptop.  

> As somebody else pretty much said... I loathe manipulative marketing
> tactics from Microsoft.  To see it from a Linux company is sickening.

That I agree with, but I don't see anything particularly manipulative
about their marketing, hyperbole definitely though

--Brent