Computer hardware is constantly getting  better. Intel and AMD are constantly trying to have the better, faster, cheaper chips. Graphics cards achieve higher benchmarks and lower price points every month. 2GB, or even 4GB, of RAM is becoming commonplace. Everything is getting faster and costing less at the same time and this will probably remain true forever. Microsoft and most Linux distributions view these same hardware improvements differently, though.

When Vista came out, one of the big complaints about it was that is was so resource demanding. Although perhaps not quite as extreme as with Vista, it seems quite reasonable to expect that with each new release of Windows, you will need a slightly, or perhaps not so slightly, better, faster computer than before.

This is not at all true of Linux. Phoronix recently published benchmarks comparing Ubuntu 7.10 (the current version) to Ubuntu 8.04 Beta (the beta of the version that will be out very soon.) What did they find? Ubuntu 8.04 is only very slightly slower than Ubuntu 7.10. Even more impressive, when the did comparisons with even earlier versions, 7.10 had actually improved on former versions.

What all this means is that Windows is becoming more and more resource reliant while Linux essentially maintains its requirements. Microsoft is already seeing the effects of their sloppiness in bad reviews of Vista and having to extend XP’s life, but unless they change soon, they will see it even more, and pay for it too.

In the future, it seems likely that a computer with Windows will cost far more than a computer with Linux, not because of the price of the operating system (since hardware manufacturers are constantly pretending Windows is free, when in reality it is not) but because the hardware required to run Windows is so much more expensive than the hardware required to run Linux.

Returning to the present, Linux is already well on its way to removing all the road blocks to switching. Even when there are no road blocks left, though, Linux will still not win mainstream adoption, until it gets a simple reason to use it: it’s cheaper.

Of course, Linux is cheaper right now. It’s free, while Windows costs hundreds of dollars. Well, as you probably know, most places like Dell get it for much less than that. I don’t think anyone knows for sure (and it almost undoubtedly varies for deal to deal), but a safe guess would be that places like Dell get Windows for around $40 (just a guess). In addition, we repeatedly see cases of an identical Windows and Linux machine costing exactly the same price. It is not fair to give Windows an advantage like that, but it seems to be the reality. No longer will it even matter, though, when a Linux machine costs so much less than a Windows machine, just because of the hardware.

Just by continuing to use minimal resources, Linux is constantly becoming a more and more attractive option, and eventually this may be the single most important factor in winning Linux’s mainstream adoption.

Adobe Air is a technology that allows certain web applications to be run on the desktop, as if they were normal desktop applications.

According to the Adobe Air website, Adobe Air “lets developers use proven web technologies to build rich Internet applications that deploy to the desktop and run across operating systems.” Essentially what that means is that developers can use tools and techniques that are already familiar to them and create web 2.0 applications that will not only run inside a web browser, but also on the desktop, regardless of the operating system that desktop is running.

At the time of writing, however, Adobe Air for Linux is not feature complete, so not all applications will work perfectly.

One of the main barriers people face when moving from one operating system to another is applications that don’t run on their new operating system. This creates an uneven playing ground where the operating systems on top have a huge advantage over other operating systems, regardless of technical merit. Web applications started to solve this problem, because most web applications can be run on any operating system, but web applications have one major disadvantage: they require an internet connection. Air lets developers create web applications that will also run on the desktop, removing that one major disadvantage and allowing web applications to finally level the operating system playing field.

For Linux, if Adobe Air catches on, many new applications will become available for it, not because they were developed specifically for Linux, but because they were developed for any operating system. This means switching to Linux is likely to become very easy in the future.

For a guide on installing Air on Linux, see my tutorial “Adobe Air on Linux: What, Why, and How“.

HP has announced the rumored HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a UMPC that runs SuSe Linux or Windows Vista, according to Reg Hardware and HP’s press release. Not much new has been discovered, since almost all the specifications were leaked. For anyone who did not see the leaked specifications, the basic specs of the HP 2133 are 7/9in screen, VIA C7-M processor, 5GB solid state or a hard drive, up to 2GB of RAM, weighs just over 2.5 pounds, and costs around $500.

The most interesting thing about the HP 2133, however, is not the specifications, but how HP decided to target it. Because of the slightly more premium specifications, more professional look, and slightly higher price, I would have expected it to be targeted at a higher end market than the Eee PC. HP is going to sell it to business people (and presumably individuals), but they are also targeting education.

This seems odd to me, since the Eee PC seems so much better suited to the task. HP notes that the 2133 “is smaller and lighter than many math or science books,” but the Eee PC is even lighter. In addition, the Eee PC is also less expensive by at least $100, which makes a big difference when you are buying 1,000 for all the kids in your school. Also, the Eee PC has an interface designed to be simple and intuitive. So why would to choose the HP 2133 instead of the Eee PC for eduction? I don’t know.

Recently Best Buy posted a price for the upcoming Windows XP Eee PC on their website. The price is $399, the same as an Eee PC with Linux and the same hardware. What is wrong with that? Lots! You can read my full post on this subject for more details, but the very short summary of what is wrong with pricing the Windows Eee PC the same as the Linux one is that either Asus or Microsoft is absorbing the cost of Windows. If Asus is absorbing the cost, it is not their business to determine the pricing of other operating systems or if Microsoft is pressuring Asus to absorb the cost, that is almost certainly anti-competitive,  and if Microsoft is absorbing the cost itself, that too is almost certainly anti-competitive. (Not that I am a lawyer.)

So basically, if the otherwise identical Windows version and Linux version cost the same, I will be furious and you will almost certainly be seeing more about it here in the future.

You may be wondering why I am not already furious. After all, hasn’t Best Buy confirmed the price is the same? (Best Buy’s page for the Windows version, Linux version) The reason is that I do not trust the numbers on the Best Buy site for two reasons.

First, the picture on the Windows page shows the Linux interface and the Linux page shows a blue screen of death. (Really just a blue screen without the death part.) Second, and much less significantly, the Linux version has an offer for a deal to save $10 on Norton 360, a security product for Windows.

For these two reasons, it is possibly nothing more than a mistake made by Best Buy. So until the pricing is confirmed, I will withold judgment.

Update: Dell appears to have added 2 new laptops to their lineup since I wrote this article. The Google cache (dated April 5) shows only two machines, as there were when I wrote this. Now, there are four! Strangely, I cannot find any announcement, leading me to believe this could have been some sort of a bug??? That would make sense, but everything was still working on the page, so I am confused.

I do appreciate Dell trying to sell Ubuntu machines, but frankly I am surprised they are selling any at all. Here is why:

Lets take a look at Dell’s huge (sarcastic) selection of two (yes, two) Ubuntu machines. One is a desktop the other is a laptop. That alone is bad enough, but if you look even further, it only gets worse.

Perhaps the most noticeable option missing is on the desktop side. You can’t even get a Core 2 Duo processor. The only processor option on the desktop is an Pentium dual-core. Come on, Dell.

Most of the rest of the configuration on the ONE desktop seems reasonable, except for the lack of an option to get a wireless keyboard and mouse. I don’t have any idea why that option is left out.

The notebook Dell offers is barely better, if that. First of all, you had better want a 13″ notebook, because that is your only choice. Plus, in order to figure out that the notebook has a 13″ screen, you have to click on the notebook and then look at the tech specs tab and you better hope you don’t click on the customize button before looking at the tech specs, or else you will never know how big the screen is.

If you do figure out how big the screen is and don’t give up trying, you had better also like black, because that is the only color choice, despite Dell’s massive number of banner ads advertising all the colors you can get. Introducing Dell’s new advertising slogan: “Dell. You can get a custom color laptop, as long as it runs Windows.”

Basically, you should buy from Dell if you (1) want an underpowered desktop with wire clutter all over your desk or if you (2) want a black 13″ laptop and don’t mind digging around the product details to find out the most obvious spec about your new laptop: the size. Otherwise, may I direct you to System 76 or ZaReason.

News that another school system or government has switched to Linux seems seems to come  very frequently now. The latest appears to be news that 9000 Swiss computers are switching to Ubuntu, according to Duvet Dayz.

This trend, similar to the trend to cheap UMPCs, represents a significant future problem for Microsoft, because students will grow up and be familiar with Linux and presumably use it at home and possibly at work too. In the case of governments switching to Linux a similar thing will presumably occur, except that (hopefully) most of the workers are already grown up.

I said before that this trend is similar to the trend towards cheap Linux UMPCs and that is true, but there is one important difference. Microsoft has seen the hole that Linux UMPCs are creating, but they have not yet shown they have seen the education and governments hole. Even if Microsoft cannot compete with Linux’s advantages, they can use FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) and force to accomplish a lot of things, but not if the don’t pay attention to where they are losing dominance.

The cheap Linux UMPC trend will continue to help Linux, though Microsoft can be expected to resist it. They may or may not win that fight, but they will do damage, through real competition or through FUD and force. The education and government hole, however, is currently being ignored or not seen by Microsoft. This gives it a chance to really take off, just as the Eee PC did before Microsoft started paying attention.

Brilliant Brainstorms is a weekly-ish summary of some of the best brainstorms from the Ubuntu Brainstorm site. In the beginning it may not always come exactly once a week or on the same day, but, if it becomes popular, it should become more regular.

Today Brainstorm implemented an idea I wrote about last week, creating a blog to go along with the main site. Last week I said that “The idea behind Ubuntu Brainstorm is to get ideas and suggestions from Ubuntu users, but in order to expect feedback from users, developers must show how they are using that feedback.” Now, the first introductory post on the new blog says “But we understand brainstorming is not an one-way process: it is our duty to give you some feedback on the ideas you proposed. That will be the goal of this blog.” As you might guess, I am very happy about this new addition. Check it out here.

With videos being incredibly popular on the web and Ubuntu having tons of cool visual effects though Compiz Fusion, it makes a lot of sense to create an official Ubuntu promotion video.

Currently, if you want to create a custom theme for your desktop, you have to pick out individual pieces. This makes it so hard to create an appealing new theme for your desktop. Letting you just download one package would make it so much easier.

Open-source is about users contributing back, but far too often even users that want to help out don’t know how. Ubuntu needs an easy way for new helpers to figure out what they should do.

It is far too easy to accidentally quit out of X (essentially giving you a full screen terminal), which would leave a new user completely confused. It is essential that there are instructions on how to get back into the GUI.

I don’t know what the title is supposed to mean, but the idea here is to add links to various useful sites for new Ubuntu users to the desktop. I think this is a great idea, because the desktop is what the user first sees and so it is the most easily accessibly place for help. Once the user is more familiar with Ubuntu, he/she can delete those links.

One of the most annoying things about installing Windows is that it keeps stopping the process to ask you more questions. This basically forces you to sit there the whole time, unless you want the process to take a whole day. I have never had this problem with Ubuntu, but I certainly don’t want to start having it.

Ubuntu Brainstorm is one of the best ways for Ubuntu users to get themselves heard. It would be so simple to put a link to it on the front page of the Ubuntu site and it would give so many more people a voice.

If you have not already seen the news, the ISO (International Standards Organization) approved the OOXML format, despite numerous cases of what I would consider outright cheating. Just after that, Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu’s founder, said “it’s sad that the ISO was not willing to admit that its process was failing horribly,” according to ZDNet. While he said nothing that has not already been said, I am very happy to see Shuttleworth, a prominent technology person, bluntly state that he does not approve of what the ISO did.

Even if you are in favor of OOXML, I cannot imagine that anyone wants the ISO setting a precedent of ignoring blatant rule violations. If OOXML passed without cheating, fine. I would have no objection to that. If, however, cheating is reported and ignored, I do have a problem with that and that is what is happening.

The implications of letting this go without making the ISO either show that there was no cheating or admit that cheating did occur go beyond setting a precedent of allowing the rules to be broken. It also encourages Microsoft to continue their unfair practices.

We cannot afford to let this go. I am glad Mark Shuttleworth has taken a stand and I hope more prominent figures follow.

As I see it, there are two ways in which something can become a standard:

1. By general consensus: people use it so other people use it and pretty soon it is a “standard,” even though it is not necessarily an “official” standard.
2. It is declared to be a standard through some agreed upon process.

Although the ISO just approved OOXML as a standard, it is not a standard by either of these definitions.

By the first definition, OOXML would have to already be widely accepted and used. Although it is very difficult to scientifically prove that OOXML is not being used, but if it were truly a standard you would see most office documents in OOXML, which does not seem to be the case. I have only seen a very few of them in OOXML. So OOXML is not yet a standard by general consensus.

By the second definition, it would seem that OOXML is a standard, because the ISO says it is. Not so fast. I said it has to be a standard based on an agreed upon process. There is a process for ISO standardization (all the countries vote and if enough of them vote to approve the standard, it gets approved.) This process, however, was not followed. There have been many incidents of suspicious (to say the least) things going on during the process, including events that seem like 100% cheating. Unless it can be shown that the standardization process was fair, OOXML is not a standard by this definition either.

In conclusion, until OOXML is truly adopted by the majority of people (preferably not through Microsoft forcing it on them) or the ISO shows us the process was really fair, ISO standardization means nothing and OOXML is not a standard.