Comments on: The man behind the netbook craze

By: Uve Hodgins, Alexandria, VA

Uve Hodgins, Alexandria, VA — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:42:18 +0000

Um, lions don't live in jungles.

By: J. Morris, Jupiter, Florida

J. Morris, Jupiter, Florida — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:02:42 +0000

I wish you would have focused more on the Buddhism aspect to this man and his perspective on how that helps to drive his business and determination.

By: Mark Payne, Seattle, Washington

Mark Payne, Seattle, Washington — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:23:51 +0000

Speaking of giant lion, coincidentally, "shih" means lion in Chinese.

By: Ken Royal, Bethel, CT

Ken Royal, Bethel, CT — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:57:49 +0000

Really enjoyed reading about Shih. Just posted Don’t Knock Netbooks—Think Education! at The Educators' Royal Treatment– http://www.educatorsroyaltreatment.com/. Netbooks are the perfect match for the classroom and Asus has great machines priced right for that market. I'd like to see them move more aggressively in that niche for educators and students.
Enjoyed Shih's journey–thanks for sharing.

By: Melchior Gustav, Taipei Taiwan.

Melchior Gustav, Taipei Taiwan. — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:29:07 +0000

The real game is not with these systems integrators but within the chip technology battles. The real story is that Intel pushes Atom with strings attached. Number one among them is crippled graphics. That puts NVidia out of the game.

In response, Nvidia, which has a lousy history of playing nice with open source and GNU/Linux due to its asinine binary-only driver policy, was forced to dump Intel and go with ARM CPUs to accompany its graphics technology. The catch there being that ARM is not Intel and without Intel you don't get Wintel. This left Nvidia with a face saving option of claiming to partner with Google's Android.

The truth is, NVidia's upcoming Tegra System-on-a-chip (SOC) will dominate the so-called netbook market but the majority of the units being sold will actually be Ubuntu rather than Android although NVidia will still claim to be "partnered" with Google since it would be too embarrassing to admit that open source supporters were right from the beginning.

By: Auri Biswas, San Francisco Bay Area, California

Auri Biswas, San Francisco Bay Area, California — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:28:45 +0000

A great case study for the pursuit of innovation – with SHARP thinking (that encompasses current & new technologies along with consumer preferences/needs); the courage to question and ditch entrenched practices that may no longer be effective; and a solid commitment to your vision – all executed boldly while the cards (… the established players!) are stacked against you. Auri Biswas. http://Art-of-Innovation.com

By: JW Mueller, Phoenix, AZ

JW Mueller, Phoenix, AZ — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:18:43 +0000

What wasn't highlighted here, IMO, is why Asus didn't stay #1 in netbooks. I don't have personal experience with early Asus netbooks, but reviews said they were questionable quality — like keyboards that flexed when you tried typing. Had they put a little more effort in, Asus might have had the newest iphone. I've been on my Acer network for a year and am quite pleased with quality. It's definitely easier to be #1 as 2nd innovator when there's a quality gap. Acer appeared to get their 2nd try out quickly, providing access to memory and drive upgrades. Going forward… don't hold out on enhancements! Why do we have to wait longer for Intel Atom N330 and (continued) better battery life! Or are they worried about killing the rest of the laptop market?

By: Dr. Lewis. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs,

Dr. Lewis. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:15:27 +0000

Even with the Eee Keyboard, the Asustek the $21-billion-a-year techies should hold on to their money because it will all go whoosh, the same way the Asus-Garmin phone did … when the iTablet comes out.

Dr. Lewis
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
http://rorylewis.com/apple/

By: Tom, Atlanta, GA

Tom, Atlanta, GA — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:30:47 +0000

I just received my acer netbook yesterday to replace a bulky old laptop. As i sit sipping a beer at this irish pub right now while downloading episodes of Its Always Sunny in the background and watching football highlights… I have to say, like it. Battery indicates another 4 hours of life, think i'll have another round!

By: David Swink, Vienna VA

David Swink, Vienna VA — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:27:41 +0000

Of course the first Asus netbooks used Intel Celeron processors and ran a simple version of Linux. In mid-2008, the Intel Atom processor replaced the Celeron, and Linux was replaced with Windows XP — in effect destroying the very thing that made the netbook initially popular.

ARM (a UK company which provides chips for nearly all cellphones) will be entering the netbook market in 2010, and the original Linux-based netbook concept will again be revived.