hi rob,<br><br>I'm not surprised they are running proprietary software but am surprised they are running vista. To quote from a recent wired article:<br><br><div style="margin-left: 40px;">Nearly every company in the PC industry has had its game plan uprooted
by netbooks. Microsoft had intended to stop selling Windows XP this
summer, driving customers to its more lucrative Vista operating system.
But when Linux roared out of the gate on netbooks, Microsoft quickly
backpedaled, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2008/apr08/04-03xpeos.mspx">extending XP</a>
for another two years—specifically for netbooks. Most experts guess
that Redmond can charge barely $15 for XP on a netbook, less than a
quarter of what it previously sold for. (Microsoft corporate vice
president Brad Brooks assures me the company is earning "good money" on
the devices and plans to make sure its next OS, Windows 7, can run on
netbooks—Vista performs poorly on them.) For its part, Intel is selling
millions of its low-power Atom chips to netbook manufacturers. "We see
this as our next billion-dollar market," says <a href="http://www.spoke.com/info/p4gnY93/AnilNanduri">Anil Nanduri</a>,
Intel's technical marketing manager—except that the company makes only
a fraction of the money on an Atom chip as on a more powerful Celeron
or Pentium in a full-size laptop.<br><a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/17-03/mf_netbooks?currentPage=all">http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/17-03/mf_netbooks?currentPage=all</a><br></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><br><br>On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 9:53 PM, Costello, Rob R <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Costello.Rob.R@edumail.vic.gov.au">Costello.Rob.R@edumail.vic.gov.au</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
HI Bill<br>
<br>
its been on the cards for ages and seems finally official<br>
<div class="im"><br>
<a href="http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ict/netbooks/netbook-parent-brochure.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ict/netbooks/netbook-parent-brochure.pdf</a><br>
<br>
</div>i've seen the models (or at least the same model and software image that one of the schools here had prepurchased) - Lenovo - i don't know the exact brand - 1.6 Ghz chip i think<br>
running vista and seemed suprisingly responsive<br>
<br>
afraid i'd choose them, and the software image, over the XO / OLPC sugar environment that might have indirectly influenced the design of the netbook market<br>
<br>
cheers<br>
<br>
rob<br>
<br>
________________________________<br>
<br>
From: <a href="mailto:yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au">yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au</a> on behalf of Bill Kerr<br>
Sent: Mon 3/23/2009 12:04 AM<br>
To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List<br>
Subject: [Yr7-10it] netbooks being distributed to every year 5 and 6 studentin northern victoria primary schools<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
netbooks being distributed to every year 5 and 6 student in northern victoria primary schools<br>
<br>
press release<br>
<a href="http://candybroadcountry.blogspot.com/2009/02/hi-tech-mini-netbooks-to-boost-learning.html" target="_blank">http://candybroadcountry.blogspot.com/2009/02/hi-tech-mini-netbooks-to-boost-learning.html</a><br>
<br>
brochure to parents (pdf)<br>
<a href="http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ict/netbooks/netbook-parent-brochure.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ict/netbooks/netbook-parent-brochure.pdf</a><br>
<br>
Anyone have more information about this? I'm preparing a talk about the potential of netbooks for my school staff and for the CEGSA conference in July (I'll post my notes somewhere in due course, still at the research stage)<br>
<br>
--<br>
Bill Kerr<br>
<a href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/</a><br>
</div></div>_______________________________________________<br>
<a href="http://www.edulists.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.edulists.com.au</a> <<a href="http://www.edulists.com.au/" target="_blank">http://www.edulists.com.au/</a>> - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe<br>
Year 7 - 10 IT Mailing List kindly supported by<br>
<a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au</a> <<a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/" target="_blank">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/</a>> - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and<br>
<a href="http://www.vitta.org.au" target="_blank">http://www.vitta.org.au</a> <<a href="http://www.vitta.org.au/" target="_blank">http://www.vitta.org.au/</a>> - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc<br>
<div class="im"><br>
Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.<br>
</div>_______________________________________________<br>
<a href="http://www.edulists.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.edulists.com.au</a> - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe<br>
Year 7 - 10 IT Mailing List kindly supported by<br>
<a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au</a> - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and<br>
<a href="http://www.vitta.org.au" target="_blank">http://www.vitta.org.au</a> - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc</blockquote></div><br><br>