Why slag people in 3rd-world countries with your comment on pirated software? Microsoft's shown that there are plenty of users of pirated software in the first world. Besides, many developing countries are mandating the use of open-source software, so pirating wouldn't be much of an issue.

eeepC comes with Linux , they will have to install a pirated copy of Windows on it first :)

how much time does it take until even apple realizes that there is a market for an ultra-portable-light-cheap mac?

Because the OLPC looks like a toy, while the EEE looks like a PC.

Who said the OLPC was not doing well? Last I heard they had a bunch of orders - at least enough to make the economy of scale they needed. No?

@Spaceboy:
The eeePC can run Linux, Win Xp and Vista.
Does anyone know what OS will go in this million units?... Maybe MS is discounting a version of Windows OEM to ASUS so all the PC's will go with MS... There is a lot more free software out there for Windows than there is open source applications for Linux.

Et al:
Funny, when I said ASUS was going to kill OLPC with the eeePC I was flamed by some....
Negroponte shunned the 2 giants, Intel and MS... now he's screwed.
I said it all along that eeePC was a better PC and ASUS had the resources and the backing of Intel and MS to pursue mass manufacturing.
Well... time has spoken I guess...

@aec007: There may be more free software for Windows numbers-wise. But functionality-wise, you get the best free software for and from Linux.

Also, I suppose the eeePC appeals to more than just Third World kids, which is the first and foremost market of the OLPC. And if I was a kid and had the choice between a fully functional PC and a machine that may be more sturdy, but severely lacking in all the cool areas, I'd go for the PC.

Y'all actually believe the eee pc runs windows? Its running linux variant with a custom shell sitting on top. Not hard to confirm only takes 2 seconds and a google fetish.

Also its a bit to early to say what will sell more then what. The specifications on these things are completely different and aimed for different markets.

I love this "lets make crap up" stuff

@baileyj
it has the ability of running windows, although it clearly states in the product description that it only ships with linux.

I've been waiting for this thing eagerly since it was announced, this is a godsend for travelers who just need to check email, update pictures and maybe write a blog post or something. The price means that it won't bankrupt you if something happens to it like with current ultralight laptops and given that it has a real mouse and keyboard that helps make up for its size disadvantage compared to stuff like the iPod Touch or Nokia N-Series.

This thing is going to be a hit.

I've been eagerly waiting for this to show up on the American doorstep since July. Some third-world kid is going to score one before they even get shipped across the Pacific?

Hell Kim Jong Il is probably going to have one before I do. Then he'll get to e-mail the UN pictures of Hanz Blix in his underground aquarium.

You're breaking my balls, Asus!

@BaileyJ: You numpt. It's well-known that the Eee PC can run Linux *or* Windows XP, though how well that lickle 900Mhz mobile Celeron will handle Microsoft's finest is anyone's guess. The fact is that Windows will add $$$ to the price, so Linux it is. Go do a little Googling of your own to see the full skinny - it's all over that zany intrenat thing.

seems to me that the OLPC was designed to solve a very very specific problem: providing a basic computer to rural children in impoverished countries. that's a pretty narrow market.

and if you think about it, mesh networking? i mean it's a cool concept but honestly how useful is it really? check out the olpc web site, they have pics of a setup somewhere in south america. they installed a central access point with a badass antenna in the middle of town, i sort of doubt that those kids are ever going to actually use the mesh networking. either they're too far away from both the access point and their nearest neighbor or they're close enough to the access point.

olpc was bound to fail at achieving its original lofty goals. however, at least it focused attention on the lack of access to technology in the developing world. it doesn't really matter who solves the problem (MIT, MS, Intel, Asus, me, etc.) just as long as it gets solved.

Microsoft's shown that there are plenty of users of pirated software in the first world.

Too true. Software and media piracy is simply more visible in developing countries because people buy physical discs in markets instead of downloading like they do here. I'd bet piracy is actually more rampant in countries with good broadband coverage because downloading is more convenient and totally free.

Besides, many developing countries are mandating the use of open-source software, so pirating wouldn't be much of an issue.

Er...NO. Governments might be paying lip service to supporting open source, but speaking from experience as a citizen of a "developing country" with craploads of computers (we have an Intel plant!), it's damn near impossible to get people to stop buying pirated software.

I might never install Windows XP on my eeePC...most of the usage I see for it involves Open Source apps like Open Office, Processing, Firefox...and all these should have a Linux distribution.

Makes me wanna go freelance so I can work on this in the coffee shop all day long :)

@Spaceboy: I think that's exactly the kind of use it's not intended for.
If I was working in a coffee shop all day long on a fairly mobile machine, it would certainly not be a machine with a 7" display. Sorry, but there are just some things human eyes were not designed for.

my 'portable' laptop is an IBM 600E - the screen is I think 1024x768, the processor is 233Mhz, and it has about 256M of RAM. It works fine, and cost about the same when I bought it as these Eee PCs are supposed to cost.

Change to a solid state drive, much faster processor, and lighter weight, and it is a winner.

The keyboard won't be as nice, but I don't thinkg there's anything that has keyboards as nice as the IBMs from that era.

I can't believe people are worried about 900Mhz not being enough for a lightweight machine - the speed of the video chip will have far more impact on how quick the system feels.

@CALL ME KENNETH: To elucidate for the slightly impaired: to say that it can run windows and is running windows would be two different things. This article seemed to indicate that the olpc is significantly disadvantaged because of the difference in OSs, which is just plain wrong since they both ship with Linux. And, as you point out, running windows on a 900Mhz would just be plain idiotic.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but isnt 1Ghz the bare minimum for a Windows installation?

@Lemment:

Correct me if i'm wrong, but isnt 1Ghz the bare minimum for a Windows installation?

uh... no.

Here's What You Need to Use Windows XP Professional

•PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required

from : [www.microsoft.com]

@aec007:

u have it backwards. Negroponte was open to anyone looking to lend a hand. its just that to MS and intel, it was all about money. So they fought and fought. intel eventually joined the olpc project and will probably be in a later version of it. As for MS, well, Negroponte was looking for a system that was lightweight, free, and that the kids could mess with (aka open sourced). If MS had really wanted to, they coluld have been a part of this project. maybe not opened sourced...but a special, light weight version , made specifically for the olpc (maybe a modified version of 98) could have possibly made its way onto the olpc. Or if not on to it, they could have made it easy to download and replace sugar with.