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Walmart's $99 Nextbook will make people hate Windows 8.1 even more
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Comments (9)
should be linux-capable
Assuming, of course, that the tablet hardware isn't tivo-ized to reject any OS not signed with the correct Micro$soft signature...
@BernardSwiss:
Perhaps the device is locked. I don't know, don't have one and probably not getting one... However, I believe Microsoft stated somewhere that only the ARM architecture portables would be irrevocably locked. I would imagine this device will be used to 'netbook' the tablet market. I don't think it's going to work though. While I'm not a 'cloud' user in the larger sense -- it would seem that Google has that market pretty much sewn up... unfortunately for those of us who are really looking forward to the 'cloud' version of LibreOffice, which seems to have become as elusive as a nicely open Tizen mobile device.
Perhaps the device is locked. I don't know, don't have one and probably not getting one... However, I believe Microsoft stated somewhere that only the ARM architecture portables would be irrevocably locked. I would imagine this device will be used to 'netbook' the tablet market. I don't think it's going to work though. While I'm not a 'cloud' user in the larger sense -- it would seem that Google has that market pretty much sewn up... unfortunately for those of us who are really looking forward to the 'cloud' version of LibreOffice, which seems to have become as elusive as a nicely open Tizen mobile device.
@me1010:
MS said that it's specification was that the device would be able to deactivate UEFI secure boot,... But they never said that it HAD to do that. And, if anyone knows MS, the space between what they put as "official" and what they convince their "partners" to do is enormous. They have actively thwarted getting anything other than MS to run on these types of things in the past.
In the past, MS has helped "partners" like eFun (the manufacturer of this little thing) make it tough to put anything other than MS software on the hardware. Just ask the Viliv folks,... Oh,... you can't. Like most MS "partners," they are nowhere to be found a year or two later. With the Viliv folks, they had them put hardware that was incompatible with Linux on the devices (proprietary graphics on the SOCs, HDs that have known problems with various distros, hardware that boots "turned off" so that the udev system couldn't find it to load drivers, etc.). This eFun device uses the Intel Atom Z3735G, which is technically Linux compatible (even graphics),... But UEFI?!?! I'm betting that eFun hasn't bothered to include the deactivation stuff or alternative BIOS stuff,... for "development cost cutting measures." So, until someone has Linux running on this thing, on YouTube or what-have-you,... I'm thinking it's not worth trying.
Besides,... $99, 8" touch screen?!?! I'll bet it's not Gorilla Glass,... which means, first drop,... and it'll shatter... I can testify as to cheap touch screen devices not being worth it... Pay more for a device with Gorilla Glass (no,... I don't work for Corning), it's worth it.
Read the whole commentMS said that it's specification was that the device would be able to deactivate UEFI secure boot,... But they never said that it HAD to do that. And, if anyone knows MS, the space between what they put as "official" and what they convince their "partners" to do is enormous. They have actively thwarted getting anything other than MS to run on these types of things in the past.
In the past, MS has helped "partners" like eFun (the manufacturer of this little thing) make it tough to put anything other than MS software on the hardware. Just ask the Viliv folks,... Oh,... you can't. Like most MS "partners," they are nowhere to be found a year or two later. With the Viliv folks, they had them put hardware that was incompatible with Linux on the devices (proprietary graphics on the SOCs, HDs that have known problems with various distros, hardware that boots "turned off" so that the udev system couldn't find it to load drivers, etc.). This eFun device uses the Intel Atom Z3735G, which is technically Linux compatible (even graphics),... But UEFI?!?! I'm betting that eFun hasn't bothered to include the deactivation stuff or alternative BIOS stuff,... for "development cost cutting measures." So, until someone has Linux running on this thing, on YouTube or what-have-you,... I'm thinking it's not worth trying.
Besides,... $99, 8" touch screen?!?! I'll bet it's not Gorilla Glass,... which means, first drop,... and it'll shatter... I can testify as to cheap touch screen devices not being worth it... Pay more for a device with Gorilla Glass (no,... I don't work for Corning), it's worth it.
I went to the Walmart site and I'm seeing two low cost devices coming up:
1. This $99 Windows model. (tablet format)
2. A $79 model with no OS specified. (with keyboard)
I would bet that the $79 model is running some sort of Linux. So much for Windows being free of cost...
1. This $99 Windows model. (tablet format)
2. A $79 model with no OS specified. (with keyboard)
I would bet that the $79 model is running some sort of Linux. So much for Windows being free of cost...
No, it's this one. I think I saw that this model is scheduled for a $79 Black Friday price.
I see now that it runs Android.
I see now that it runs Android.
Windows 8.1 for $Free? Is that even legal?
Seeing as they're charging something on the order of (iirc) $30 for "patent licenses" against Android devices...
If they own the copyright, they can charge or not charge as they wish. Just like the copyright owner of GPL'd software can still charge for it, or sell the copyright outright.
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