Asus Eee PC the Tipping Point for Linux?

While Asus has emphasized the intended market for the Asus Eee PC to be first time users – hence, Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play, a lot of buyers appear to be users who already have a computer (desktop or notebook) but who needed a second mobile unit.

Judging from the posts in various user forums (Eeeuser, TipidPC (Tagalog/English), Mobile01 (Chinese)), it seems a lot of these users are simply amazed at how much the Eee PC outperforms their desktops even if the latter has better specs. Invariably they attribute the efficiency to the installed OS – Linux (Xandros) instead of Windows XP.

Of course there is obviously still a popular demand for Microsoft’s operating system. In fact, Asus has responded by announcing XP-based models albeit at higher prices. But the satisfactory experience will certainly open the eyes of these users and will lead them to consider Linux as alternative operating system for their next computer. Especially since it is free. And in the Eee PC's case, very easy to use.

Granted the Easy Mode menu is a proprietary add-on exclusive for the Eee PC but it should be only a matter of time before someone develops similar interfaces for the more popular Linux variants, especially Ubuntu. Not coincidentally, the Linux-based gOS operating system of Everex’s low-cost bestselling gPC also has a user-friendly interface. Other manufacturers are more than likely to follow. After all, the Eee PC and the gPC have proven that when done right, the buying public will readily accept computers with Linux pre-installed as the operating system.

And as much as Asus has turned mobile computing upside down with its small is not necessarily more expensive pricing scheme, it may also have trigger the tipping point for Linux to assume dominance in the software world. That, more than anything else, might actually be the Eee PC’s lasting legacy.