Can't download Windows 7 Beta? Try Linux!
Microsoft Killed Windows 7 Beta? You can always download a fresh copy of Linux!
I just made this experience: created a virtual machine with just 256 Mb RAM and installed XUbuntu -- a lightweight desktop system.
When I turned the machine on, the operating system would use just 130 Mb of memory. Here's a screenshot:
http://i40.tinypic.com/vfj9k3.png
When I turned Firefox on, memory was still below 180Mb.
That's why Linux will dominate the low-end netbook market: not only because it is free, reducing the software cost by $30-$60, but because it also requires much less hardware, reducing the overall cost by another $30-$60.
If you consider software AND hardware, Linux is what will make it possible to sell netbooks for $200, while Windows netbooks will start
at $300. (Windows at $200 will be a non-starter.)
If you want to repeat this experiment, download XUbuntu:
http://www.xubuntu.org/
Biting the hand that feeds IT
