I agonized over the operating system for quite a while. I did not want to have a legacy - read Windows XP - operating system loaded. I would certainly NEVER go for vista even if it was "possible" and Windows 7 (which would be viable) is not out yet.
Actually there are in fact only 2 options right now, Windows XP or the Linux variant Ubuntu. I wouldn't mind playing around with Ubuntu, but not fighting with it and the general feedback is that the return rate (back to the shop) is 4 times higher for Ubuntu than Windows.
This is not to say that the problem is soley down to Ubuntu (it is apparently the easiest of the Linux variants to use) or simply culture shock to those used to windows (although also likely the case). Whilst these are contributory factors, I think the bigger issue is drivers both in terms of availability and usability. e.g. I use vodafone mobile broadband which works on Windows or Mac but not Linux and whilst this situation may change, the issue then becomes ease of installing and configuring drivers on Linux. The latter is not something Linux is known for and when you think of the myriad of devices that you often connect to your laptop (printers, memory sticks, usb drives, camera's, mp3 players etc) you start to get a little bit nervous.
This is NOT to say that these things are not insummountable just that I spend enough time sorting out IT problems at work and don't really want to create them at home.
So like many techies and non-techies the answer was Windows XP.
This is of course good news for Microsoft. There was a real opportunity for Linux to become a defacto standard on Netbooks due to the inability of Vista to run on these low-end devices. In fact given the huge popularity of these devices - My wife has just ebay'd her Apple Laptop and ordered a Dell Mini 9 for herself - it could have dealt a serious blow to Microsoft. Instead Microsoft have been wounded in terms of lost revenue (XP costs less than Vista) and pride (The Fat os is the couch potato left watching the two horse race).
So is this the end of the Linux Attack on the Laptop?
I don't think we have seen the last of Linux at all, but as i've previously blogged, I do not believe a "Full Frontal Attack" by Linux will succeed. By this I mean that giving users an ultimatum of Linux vs Windows, even an easier Ubuntu vs Legacy Windows XP ultimatum, will result in users turning to Windows.
Why? Because Linux simply isn't a complete replacement for Windows and there is enough doubt amoung the windows user base to prevent them taking a step into Linux on the chance that Linux is enough for their personal needs.
That is why Splashtop is so interesting as a Windows Trojan Horse because it doesn't Take on Windows directly nor does it pretend to be a replacement, just an alternative o/s for some specific tasks particularly the web. However, the Web is a now a major part of our computing life and Splashtop (including varients) offer some unique abilities, like almost "instant on" and hugely extended battery operation.
And whilst this feature hasn't filtered down to netbooks yet I can see it being another transforming feature of netbooks. Why? Well netbooks are the perfect size to carry around with you but you don't want to be waiting longer for the laptop to start-up than the cup of latte - you ordered - to arrive. Neither do you want to carry a power supply brick with you or be married to the local power point of the coffee shop.
Given that netbooks have less memory/slower cpu's a cut down version of linux also makes sense. This will be one of the few inhibitors left preventing netbooks from becoming as popular and widespread - and perhaps on the street - as mobile phones.
Lets look at the others criteria already met;
Cost. The cost of netbooks is half the price of laptops and a number of mobile phone resellers are offering them free with a mobile broadband contract. Lets face it, netbooks are the same price or cheaper than many mobile phones!
Internet. Relying on local wifi and/or putting up with the costs some places charge has been inhibitive. With mobile broadband, you get internet wherever you go (assuming you get a signal).
Data. One of the reasons you didn't take your laptop with you was fear of theft/loss/breakage. This was partly down to the cost of replacing your laptop (see point on cost above), but also about loss of data (often not replaceable). However, with Web 2.0 you can work online with data held centrally or you can use one of the online storage solutions such as www.box.net to secure data on your laptop.
With online applications and data, the demise of your laptop is less of an inconvienience than if you lost your mobile phone. Funny enough halfway through doing this post I was evicted from my netbook by the wife. Since I was blogging online, I simply logged into my laptop and continued the blog. If I had been writing a document using an online word processor it would have been a similar story.
The only thing left is the ability to "lock" your netbook in the same way mobile network providers can do with mobile phones when they are lost or stolen.
For those interested in a review of the Top Ten Netbooks click HERE
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