ABOUT NETBOOK
Software
A netbook will run any software that its operating system supports. Since the hardware architecture is similar to personal computers, it was easy to port the major, contemporary operating systems to the netbook, and thus achieve machine independence and transparency for their applications. Some vendors provide dual choices for consumers to choose from, either Linux or Windows
Operating Systems (OS)
Windows
As of January 2009, over 90% (96% claimed by Microsoft as of February 2009) of netbooks in the United States are estimated to ship with Windows XP, which Microsoft was later estimated to sell ranging from US$15 to US$ 35 per netbook.Microsoft has extended the availability of Windows XP for ultra-low cost personal computers from June 2008 until June 2010. However, the discounted license costs only applies to reduced size and functionality netbooks, which effectively enables the production of low-cost PC’s while preserving the higher margins of mainstream desktops and “value” laptops as well as avoiding increased use of Linux installations on netbooks. Microsoft is also testing and has demonstrated a ‘Starter’ edition of Windows 7 for this class of devices.Windows CE has also been used in netbook applications, due to its reduced feature design, that keeps with the design philosophy of netbooks.
Many netbooks are by default unable to activate Windows in an enterprise environment using a Microsoft Key Management Service (KMS) as they lack System Locked Preinstallation (SLP) capability in their BIOS.The missing feature artifically segments enterprise customers from the lower end Netbook market; some hardware vendors offer an optional SLP-compliant BIOS to enterprise customers at additional cost.
GNU/Linux
As of January 2009, customised GNU/Linux distributions are estimated to ship on less than 10% of netbooks, making it the second most popular operating system after Windows. As Linux systems normally install software from an Internet software repository, they do not need an optical drive to install software. However, early netbooks like the Eee PC failed to use this benefit by disabling access to the full range of available GNU/Linux software.
Netbooks have sparked the development of many new GNU/Linux distributions, like Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Easy Peasy. See the full list of Netbook Distributions. An Intel-sponsored beta version of Moblin version 2.0 became available in the autumn of 2009.
Android
Google’s Android software platform, designed for mobile telephone handsets, has been demonstrated on an ASUS Eee PC and its GNU/Linux operating system contains policies for mobile internet devices including the original Asus Eee PC 701. ASUS has allocated engineers to develop an Android-based netbook. Freescale have also announced plans for a low-cost ARM-based netbook design, running Android. In May 2009 a contractor of Dell announced it is porting Adobe Flash Lite to Android for Dell netbooks.Acer announced Android netbooks to be available in Q3/2009.
On July 2009, a new project Android-x86 is created to provide an open source solution for Android on x86 platform, especially for netbooks.
Mac OS X
Mac OS X has been demonstrated running on various netbooks as a result of the OSx86 project, although this may be in violation of the operating system’s End User License Agreement. Apple has complained to sites hosting information on how to install OS X onto non-Apple hardware (including Wired and YouTube) who have reacted and removed content in response. Although Apple has previously taken legal action regarding such installations (see Psystar), a February 2009 federal court ruling may result in the eventual removal of this restriction.
In 2008, Apple released the MacBook Air, marketed as an “ultraportable” laptop. Although the Air is more costly than other netbooks, it has a low weight (1.6 kg/3 pounds) and a small number of included devices. Apple’s marketing for the MacBook Air focuses on its 0.4-1.94 cm (0.16-0.76″) thinness.
Other
Netbooks have been demonstrated running other operating systems including FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Darwin and Moblin.
The Cloud operating system attempts to capitalize on the minimalist aspect of netbooks. User space is limited to a browser application only, in effect making this operating system a browser. In other words there is no operating system; as far as the user is concerned there is only a browser. Remarkably, it can also function as a boot loader while its browser is running, bringing up a usable operating system in the background.
