OStatic

As 2008 approaches its curtain call, one of the biggest tech surprises to record for the year has to be netbooks--lightweight, small and inexpensive portable computers. Many of these are Linux-based, such as the Asus Eee PC that I bought near the beginning of the year (I'm kicking myself for not waiting a few months for the version with the larger display, but I still like it). Ever since Asus made its mark early in the year with the Eee PCs, other players have jumped into the fast-growing market. In fact, Acer's Aspire One netbooks, which feature larger keyboards than Asus', outsold the Eee PCs last quarter. If you are looking into getting a netbook, here are some thoughts and some good links to previous coverage.

I stumbled upon John Spencer's blog over at ComputerWorldUK. It seems he recently had a hand in deploying a few Eee Box desktops at a local school. Though these boxes run Windows, it doesn't mean they can't run a lot of powerful open source alternative applications along with any required proprietary ones, and he says, in some settings, this is the situation that works out best for everyone. As a Linux enthusiast, he was impressed with Splashtop, the Linux-based, instant-on option shipping with many netbooks.

But it's not only appearing on netbooks. And it's not only Linux enthusiasts who are impressed. I recently built a new computer for my husband and chose an ASUS motherboard. I didn't notice the Splashtop/ExpressGate feature when I ordered it (though I was aware that ASUS was planning to offer models with this feature). After the build, I installed and enabled the Splashtop instant-on mode, mainly for my curiosity. What's happened in the short time since gives pause to wonder.

Year of the Linux desktop? I don't know. Year of the instant-on Linux desktop? The Linux Foundation's Jim Zemlin is on to something.