Cost of Windows XP license and cost of extra storage [LWN.net]

Cost of Windows XP license and cost of extra storage

Posted May 9, 2008 0:36 UTC (Fri) by pjm (subscriber, #2080)
In reply to: Windows-based EeePC cheaper than Linux one (APCMag) by kripkenstein
Parent article: Windows-based EeePC cheaper than Linux one (APCMag)

A forbes.com article (end of first page and beginning of second) describes the operating system choice as follows:

Asustek decided that the Windows operating system was out of the question. The licensing costs would have been the most expensive part of the computer. So it decided to use Linux and build its own user interface, and that became the most time-consuming part of the project.

[They spend a lot of time on the user interface even though that means slipping the release date.]

Meanwhile, the prospect of millions of new PC users buying the Eee PC without Windows seemed to worry Microsoft. Just before the launch, it agreed to give Eee PC buyers the option of getting Windows for under $40 [USD, i.e. “under ~AU$42”], more than a third off the standard price.

That seems to match with what the first commenter said about the difference between 12GB and 20GB being around $100. More precisely, it's a question of the difference between a 8GB and 16GB SSD, assuming that wikipedia's reporting of a reghardware.co.uk article is correct about the storage being divided into two SSD devices of which one is 4GB. I've conflicting information about how much more 16GB costs than 8GB; some sources suggest that it's only about AU$50.

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