I blogged in my recent entry about the new $A 500 Asus Ess PC.    How can a PC cost less than $A 500?  Easy, IT DOES NOT RUN WINDOWS and instead runs on Linux.   Why is Bill Gates the richest man in the World? It is simple really, every Windows machine that is sold you pay for the OS to Microsoft.   What this Asus Ess PC does is that it takes Microsoft out of the loop.  

This is something Sun could so eaily do.   I think Sun should manufacture a laptop running Solaris 10 and bundle it with StarOffice.    I also like the idea of using a flash drive to reduce weight and cost at the entry level or for an ultra-light laptop.   Sun could also manufacture high-end machines with all the bells and whistles and easily beat the price of the Window machines.  Once you take Micosoft out of the equation the cost comes down.

The Asus Ess PC..  ultra-light and ultra-portable that costs less than $A500 and DOES NOT RUN WINDOWS.  

The Asus Eee PC breaks through the $A 500 price barrier to retail for $A 499 in Sydney shops this week.   So what do you get for $A 500?   Based on this review  I would say a lot.  Sure the screen maybe 18CM across but it gives you everything you need a neat light package.  

What is really interesting is that it DOES NOT RUN WINDOWS.   Now you know why you pay $1,500 + for a laptop, because you have to pay a Microsoft for the operating system.   This little beauty runs Linux which keeps the cost down and takes less hardware to run.  The machine comes installed wth a whole bunch of software inclusing Open Office 2.0.  

What is also really interesting is that the Eee PC does not have a hard drive which is replaced with a 4GB solid state drive and you can beef up the storage with a USB flash drive card.  

As the verdict in this review says. "Less truly is more, at least when it comes to the Eee PC. While Asus considers this mainly as a robust little laptop for kids, it's ideal as a second computer that can be shared among the family or taken on holidays."

Lilliputian laptop .... Asus Eee PC