On Wednesday, Casio will be releasing a small (2.1 lb.)
Crusoe-based laptop that runs a curious hybrid of Windows ME (for
the bulk of the time) and a “partial version” of Linux (for MP3
“tunes or read certain files.”) This article is sketchy on the
details of how that will work, but notes that it can be converted
to an all-Linux machine:
“…The notebook, of course, is one of the few that
makes it easy to switch between operating systems. The Fiva doesn’t
contain a complete version of Linux, but a partial version for
running a few applications. Consumers, however, can convert the
machine to an all-Linux beast.…’Everybody has been trying to figure out how Linux is going
to enter the (notebook) business,’ David Ditzel, Transmeta’s chief
technology officer, said in March. ‘Rather than see a Linux machine
that is separate and distinct from a Windows machine, there is
going to be a possibility of a peaceful coexistence.'”