Be that as it may, 11 inches or so would definetly be a ‘category-bender”. Conventional wisdom states that Netbooks stop at 10 inches and Notebooks start at 12….so what would 11 be? Windows might be willing to make an expection on the XP issue….but that would still likely be at the expense of Win 7. With Netbooks, every install of XP is one less Linux machine out there, but this would be cannibilizing their own future OS. Tough to see them doing that.

Regarding Linux, I am sure that you could get a Linux Distro working if the graphics cards are powerful enough. However, not too many high end mobile GPUs out there, and most are very finicky as far as Linux drivers…not to mention intensely expensive. Therefore I agree that a Linux/GPU scenario is doable, but I feel it would be more trouble/expense then it was worth. Why not just hold the notebook for 6 months and release it with a bang as an early Win 7 device? Of course, I become less and less impressed with the high level decision making at Asus, and this kind of rush job sounds like something they would do.

I believe that the continued sale of XP is for netbooks/nettop PCs only, I doubt MS would allow it to be installed on a cutting edge new notebook in place of Vista or Win 7….but that would be between MS and Asus.

My understanding of the XP licensing is the same as yours, which is why I said “certain limited PCs”. Are we sure this design wouldn’t qualify, though? There weren’t a lot of details given in the story.

As for going with a custom Linux distro or such like, it is possible, but that would likely not be readily embraced by the consumer market. It could prove a short term solution, but from a sales point of view, the voucher for a future Win 7 install may actually be preferable.

I suppose it depends if this is a netbook or meant as a fully-featured PC. If it’s a high-end laptop, maybe Linux wouldn’t work, but I still think you could access the second screen with custom software and a good graphics controller without needing Windows 7.

As for the two screen solution being popularized by the DS, that is possible but there have been a lot of complaints that most DS software didn’t do a great job at implementing the hardware. Plus, a notebook in that form factor is a compltely different animal and the possible uses are much much broader then in the tiny screened DS. It could be seen as a good Proof of concent however.

Whether the DS software does a good job with two screens or not isn’t really the issue. People have seen the form factor, so a bad implementation might not be as disastrous as you think (just like one bad Windows Mobile device shouldn’t tarnish the whole Windows Mobile OS).

A PC would certainly have more uses than a DS (although I can see the Asus being great for Battleship :D), but that’s why you’d need the custom software I mentioned. It would allow you to specify how the screens worked — as duplicates (for shared viewing), a larger display (for tablet or eBook uses), as a single screen with custom input controls (a standard but flexible laptop configuration) or as two separate screens (for two-person gaming, research, or other uses).

Steve

As for going with a custom Linux distro or such like, it is possible, but that would likely not be readily embraced by the consumer market. It could prove a short term solution, but from a sales point of view, the voucher for a future Win 7 install may actually be preferable.

As for the two screen solution being popularized by the DS, that is possible but there have been a lot of complaints that most DS software didn’t do a great job at implementing the hardware. Plus, a notebook in that form factor is a compltely different animal and the possible uses are much much broader then in the tiny screened DS. It could be seen as a good Proof of concent however.

Z

Also, are you sure they’d need Vista? Can’t certain limited PCs still include XP? Or what about Linux, like they use in the eee?

The Nintendo DS is very popular, so the form factor is already kind of established (at least in the gaming world).

Steve