Linux - NewsThis forum is for original Linux News. If you'd like to write content for LQ, feel free to contact us.
All threads in the forum need to be approved before they will appear.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I'll believe it when I see it. The main problem with netbooks is that everyone, except the consumer, loathes the things. Manufacturers hate the things because they have such low margins. Software vendors hate the things because they have such bare-bones needs and generally work best with FOSS. Heck, netbooks forced Microsoft to delay shutting down XP because Vista wouldn't run on them. Retailers hate the things because there is no margins on the sales and they can't load them up with tons of crapware. Who is going to put a $400 copy of MS Office on a $300 netbook? Ever since they came out, there has been a propaganda effort by a lot of the technology media aimed at killing the things and most of those articles beat the same drum as this BBC article. "They're too slow, they don't do everything you need".
Bull. I have yet to see the website that my Mini 9 can't handle. For basic office productivity, it rivals my desktop (which is no shabby beast). Is it slower? Yes, but frequently I'm the slowest part of the equation. What it won't do, is run graphic intensive games.
What might kill netbooks are smartphones. I use my netbook for a lot of the same things some of my friends use their smartphones for. That said, until someone comes up with a way to add a decent keyboard and screen to a smartphone, you won't be able to use the smartphone for productivity. What would be a complete netbook killer would be a netbook sized screen and keyboard combo that you can drop your Droid or iPhone into and have a basic laptop.
What might kill netbooks are smartphones. I use my netbook for a lot of the same things some of my friends use their smartphones for. That said, until someone comes up with a way to add a decent keyboard and screen to a smartphone, you won't be able to use the smartphone for productivity. What would be a complete netbook killer would be a netbook sized screen and keyboard combo that you can drop your Droid or iPhone into and have a basic laptop.
A dock like that would be pretty damn cool. I'm aiming to get a Nokia N900 as my next phone (next month hopefully) or an N97 if that's what's available. They both have slide out QWERTY keyboards - a must for me - and they are apparently almost sub-netbooks. Even better is that that N900 is Maemo (Linux) based which should make syncing with my home system a piece of the proverbial.
What surprises me is that someone hasn't done something like this already. Even now, most smartphones have CPU power not far shy of an Atom, so toss in a little extra storage and memory and it should be good to go. So something must be a roadblock. At least here in the US I suspect the degree to which phones are locked down by the wireless carriers has a bit to do with it.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.