Ending the Hardware/Software Rat Race

We're saved! Or rather, Windows XP is -- at least for the time being. Microsoft announced this week that it is extending the cut-off date for sales of the older edition of Windows until 2010, specifically to serve the needs of customers who are planning to buy one of the new wave of low-cost laptops due to arrive this summer.

It's not hard to see why. The mini-laptop that started it all, the Asus Eee PC, shipped with Linux pre-installed, and many of the new machines are likely to take the same road. In fact, some PC makers are reportedly so enamored with Linux that the news of an XP option might fall on deaf ears. This is a fascinating development, and with any luck it could be the start of a promising new trend.

In many ways, Windows Vista can be seen as the culmination of the old way of doing business in the computer industry: the hardware/software rat race. PC manufacturers release product lines with the latest, fastest, and most powerful hardware, and the software vendors pump out ever-more-bloated software to match. With Vista, it's gotten to where you actually need a multi-gigahertz processor and two gigabytes of RAM just to run the operating system! Does this honestly make sense to anyone?

Apparently, customers aren't the only ones who are getting frustrated. PC makers seem to be getting a clue, too; and for once they're taking the lead, rather than just taking marching orders from Redmond.

Nobody really expects these new, low-cost computers to replace the high-powered PCs we've come to love. But more choice is a great thing. For once, we could start to see a computer industry that behaves more like the automotive industry -- after all, you don't buy a Hummer when all you really need is a Vespa.

Which brings us back to the OS question. Microsoft obviously thinks this new market is important enough that it can't afford not to have a hand in it. In fact, I wouldn't count on this XP reprieve being anything more than a stop-gap measure. I'm betting Microsoft will come up with some form of Vista or Windows 7 that's specially-tailored for low-end machines in the near future. (By the way, if you simply must have XP, PC World's Preston Gralla has some great suggestions.)

Be that as it may, however, these new Linux-powered PCs are definitely ones to watch. For one thing, running Linux means the PC makers must come up with their own, custom UIs to make it easier for new users to access their software. Asus has already been fairly successful at this with the Eee PC. If the other manufacturers follow suit with new and creative ideas of their own, this could give desktop Linux a long-awaited shot in the arm.

More importantly, if the PC manufacturers are so successful with their Linux-powered devices that they can convince Microsoft to change the tune that it's been piping with Vista, we could be in for some very exciting computing times, indeed.