Mace's Musings

ASUS EeePC Competitor - CloudBook

The first competitor to the ASUS EeePC looks like it will be the Everex CloudBook, at $399 (on sale at Walmart on the 25th of this month). The most notable difference is that the Everex claims a 5 hour battery life (vs. the EeePC 2.8 to 3.5 hours battery life). Physically, the units are almost the same size, but the Everex uses a tiny fingertip sized touchpad above the keyboard on the right, which may be awkward if you are left-handed. As has become the norm on these low cost units, Linux is the standard OS. The Everex uses the same gOS that other popular Walmart machines are using. The gOS user interface is oriented toward the use of Google online services, which makes sense in an ultra-portable platform.

4GB Standard in 2008

According to this article, 4GB will become the standard memory in computers (except at the low end) in 2008. The reason is that the memory market has too much supply, because of the low adoption of Windows Vista (which needs 2GB to run well).

There is a problem with that if you are still using Windows - it can only address a little more than 3GB of memory. The server version of Windows, or the 64-bit version of Windows can address the additional memory, but those versions are not well suited to desktop use because of limited driver support and compatibility. Enabling the functionality is not trivial; all drivers must support it, or the system crashes.

Linux and Mac OS X have no problem. They can use PAE functionality in the CPU when running 32-bit, or just run 64-bit to take full advantage of the memory.

Microsoft does plan to fix the problem in Windows Vista SP2; they are going to change the number they report from the usable memory to the installed memory! That's right, their "fix" is to lie about the usable RAM. Hey, at least they're consistent. Ass-backwards, but consistent.

So now Windows is getting squeezed out of the low end machines, because the OS costs more than the hardware... and Windows can't take advantage of the hardware on the high end machines... and 200,000 bits of malware are attacking them in the middle... and their only profitable software is competing against companies that give away their product for free. And people are holding on to Microsoft shares because.... What? They need a deduction on their taxes?

ASUS Eeepc 2G

It's about time!

Amazon is reporting that the $399 ASUS EeePC Linux sub-notebook is its number one best selling item in the computer category. The other stores that carry it - Best Buy, Newegg, Buy.com, ZipZoomFly, etc. - are selling out their stock each time they take delivery - sometimes the same day.

Walmart started selling a $200 Linux desktop, both online and in 600 stores. The online site sold out in 48 hours, and the stores were out of stock in a week.

Hmm, I detect a stirring in the force.

HexBug

My sister, Rochelle, gave us a HexBug, a little robot that walks, avoids obstacles, and responds to sound.

Back in 1977, Barbara and I went to a computer show in Philadelphia at the convention center (computer shows were a big deal back then). One of the highlights of the show was a competition called the Byte Micro Maze Mouse. A self contained computer attempted to navigate a simple maze, before its on-board battery died. None of the competitors completed the maze successfully. Each "mouse" cost well over $1000 (in 1977 dollars) and required months of development by a major engineering school. Some tried to implement an algorithm called the "traveling salesman" but most used a simpler "stay right" or "stay left" algorithm. Here's a picture of one of the competitors from 1977 (the base is about five inches in diameter; click the image for a larger picture):

The toy bug uses the "stay right" algorithm, it fits in the palm of your hand, and its battery lasts long enough to successfully complete that maze from 1977. Just a little perspective on the engineering of "simple" devices.