The MIPS Processor and the $150 Linux Netbook

“About a year ago the first MIPS32 based netbooks appeared,
mainly in Europe and Asia. MIPS64 based netbooks are now on the
market as well and are competing with ARM processors for the low
end of the next generation of super low cost machines. We are
talking about systems that reportedly will sell for as little as US
$130 and which have already sold for as little as US $149. Say
hello to the $150 netbook.

“Last week I wrote about two different projections claiming that
Linux will recapture 50% of the netbook market, either in three
years or by next year. Compelling MIPS and ARM based systems are
the reason I believe those projections are correct. Current
versions of Windows won’t run on ARM or MIPS processor based
systems at all. Windows CE can and does but offers the
functionality of a PDA, not the functionality one expects in a
miniature PC. Even if Microsoft were to adopt a crash program to
port to these platforms many of these systems lack the horsepower
to run Windows acceptably if at all. Lightweight, optimized
versions of Linux are another matter entirely. They run just fine
for many applications on the MIPS based systems released so far
despite processor speeds ranging from 336 to 797 MHz.”

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