In a recent GigaOm article, Om Malik talks about his experiences using a Netbook. “Netbook” has become the popular term for devices such as the Asus EeePC, the MSI Wind or the HP miniNote. Om tries to use a Netbook for while and has a less than satisfactory experience. He cites some problems with the weight of the device, battery life and heat.
Interestingly, he also mentions boot time:
“It runs Windows XP and no surprise, takes too long to boot up. (There is a Linux version, but I didn’t try that.)”
Recognizing that this is a nascent industry, Om lists 10 things that Netbooks should do. On the top of his list is Instant On. Clearly we agree. If you take into consideration the “use-case” for a Netbook Instant On becomes essential. Netbooks are travelers. They’re going to be turned on and off constantly. The use is not unlike a mobile phone. “I have to get online real quick to get that map” or “what’s my next appointment, again?”
Another of Om’s points really applies to Splashtop:
“7. The primary function of the computer should be cloud-based activities that can include everything from listening to live music, reading blogs and watching videos. Writing research reports or cranking out spreadsheets isn’t the primary purpose of these machines.”
Splashtop is completely geared towards cloud-based activities. Our main application is the Splashtop Browser. More often we recognize internally that getting people online to their web applications quickly and efficiently is our key value proposition. You really can’t underestimate the importance of speed and convenience.
Brad Linder from Liliputing writes a response to Om’s article. While he disagrees with Om on many points, he does give a nod to the suggestion of an Instant On environment in Netbooks. In fact, he goes on to say that he sees the importance of both an Instant On environment and a full-blown OS living side-by-side.
“Not that I wouldn’t love an instant-on machine. But Asus and other PC makers are addressing this by adding “SplashTop” and other feature that let you boot into a Linux-based OS in a matter of seconds and browse the web, use Skype, and do a few other basic tasks. When you need the full operating system, though, it’s nice to know that it’s available.”
At Splashtop, we really believe in this positioning. As I explained in this post, we see ourselves as the perfect OS companion. This is even more true for a Netbook which is ultra-portable, generally has a smaller battery and needs to be constantly turned on and off.
Thanks Om and Brad for a great discussion.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
“As I explained in this post, we see ourselves as the perfect OS companion. This is even more true for a Netbook”
do you have any plans to talk with netbooks brands ( Asus, Acer, HP. MSI, Dell, Elonex, etc. ) about embedding splashtop on this machines?
June 24th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Well then, let us have splashtop… I wants it for my precious (that is my EEE PC 701)
… please
June 25th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Asus will put slpashtop on EeeBOX, i hope it’ll be the full applications, no use for a complete linux nor xp.
June 26th, 2008 at 1:04 am
I think it was a bad decision for Asus not to include the Splashtop in their Eee PCs… it would have been the best “advertisement” they (and yourself) could get, and a way to show how your system truly shines in that area.
(When I saw that youtube video, showing the splashtop an a Eee, I said to myself: *that* will be a killer combo!
Unfortunately… it never came out.
Now, lots of other “netbooks” are rushing to include similar systems, and the impact won’t be as great - whenever it reaches the market.
Any way, I’m still hoping you guys can someday distribute a USB flash-disk based distro - even if restricted to just some specific netbook models (as in… the Eee PC series
June 26th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Would it be possible to get something like opera into splashtop (or splashtop light)
June 26th, 2008 at 11:08 am
@orlando - We’d sure like to talk to more OEMs. Have any ideas?
June 26th, 2008 at 11:10 am
@Carlos - We hear ya! If and when we do something with a USB flash-disk version, we’ll get you on the beta tester list.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:11 am
@Wazzup - that’s a great suggestion. I’ll ping the team about it.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I’ll be more than willing to help whenever and however I can.
Just a few technical questions - if you’re allowed to answer them:
does the splashtop environment recognizes (and uses) the full installed memory on the computer?
For example: 2GB? And if so does it recognizes more than 4GB?
Regarding the hardware, does it dynamically detect what’s available? - for example, a IDE or Sata CD burner?
What about USB devices?
Or is the “splashtop” compiled exactly for a specific hardware platform/device?
June 27th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
@carlos
does the splashtop environment recognizes (and uses) the full installed
memory on the computer?
For example: 2GB? And if so does it recognizes more than 4GB?
Yes, it recognizes and uses the full installed memory up to 4GB.
Regarding the hardware, does it dynamically detect what’s available? - for
example, a IDE or Sata CD burner?
What about USB devices?
Or is the “splashtop” compiled exactly for a specific hardware
platform/device?
Yes, dynamically detects USB devices including (keyboard, mouse,
storage devices); however, we cannot guarantee support for all devices. We
do the best we can!
June 27th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Thanks for the info sol.
Looks like Splashtop can eventually grow to become everything 90% of the users need… eventually turning “monolithic” OS like current ones obsolete in the not so distant future.
(Being used to work and program for embedded machines, I always thought this was the way to go!
Keep up the good work, and keep us posted!
June 30th, 2008 at 2:49 am
Will we ever be able to download it and install a splashtop light version on any PC ? (a micro-OS we can put in a separate disk-partition or USB-device). I saw ASUS is using the ligth version with some MB’s, so I suppose they can.
(I have delayed my order for a new MB though untill I can get one reasonably priced with splashtop on the board itself)
June 30th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I would be very interested in seeing Splashtop become an option on Mini-ITX motherboards.
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:46 am
Likewise.
Splashtop on a Eee PC would be amazing.
But I guess it’s just a matter of time until we see all manufacturers following that same approach:
A flash area were you can install the kernel for the OS (1GB, 4GB, or even 8GB are not that expensive these days - just recently bought a 8GB USB pen for 18 Eur.) and optionally the rest on regular media…
(At least until non-volatile RAM, like M-RAM becomes commonplace, which will completely change the computer/OS architecture once again.)
August 17th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Hi
I am writing this from my eeepc 701 from expressgate-version-1.2.8.0 splashtop-browser-0.9.2.12, but would like some help on the boot up. I installed expressgate on my WinXP eeepc 701 with the hard drive installer (thx) to my usb-flash-drive hidden inside pc. then installed syslinux to my flash-drive. when it boots i get a flashing screen unless i push the left mouse key as soon as it boots, then it says press enter for list or what vga 0,1,2,3…. or scan. then I press 2 and it boots fine. any ideas maybe vga=???? boot option for screen please help i would like this more if it just booted right threw but it is verrry fast once it gose from the vga screen. I will also give grub a try mabe that will work better ???? any help or info –user-email-removed–
December 27th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
netbooks are awesome - my ASUS i would never leave the house without that netbook. Its so portable and access the net anywhere with my wireless modem! full of goodness