Little and Big

Dear Linux Magazine Reader,

In the July, 2008 issue, I wrote about the announcement from Microsoft that they were keeping Windows XP around past its planned retirement date, in large part to fend off the challenge posed by a new class of ulta low-cost PCs (ULPC) that was emerging in the market. Particularly popular was a hot-selling little Linux mini known as the ASUS Eee PC. At the time, surging sales of the Eee PC had the potential to threaten Microsoft's market share, and they decided to keep XP around to hold a place in the ultra-light market.

At the time, I wrote, "You have to credit Microsoft for being smart enough to notice that they need to adapt. But whenever they make this kind of a correction to ward off a threat, they give up a little more control. This move lends credibility to the low-cost computer movement, virtually ensuring its survival. And though they have temporarily checked the pace of Linux adoption by offering XP to ULPC vendors at a deeply discounted price, in the long run, the quantity of free Linux applications, and the reduced need for malware tools, offers significant advantages to Linux in the ultra-light market."

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