MSI intros cut-price Linux mini-laptop
Other models get hard drive boost
MSI has made some modifications to its Wind line of Small, Cheap Computers, upping the storage capacity of the standard model and introducing a cheaper model.
MSI's Wind U90: smaller screen, lower price
The low-cost Wind matches the spec of its pricier stablemates but comes in at £269 ($485/€332) instead of £329 ($593/€406) by coming pre-loaded with Linux and sporting an 8.9in, 1024 x 600 display instead of a 10in screen.
The new model, dubbed the U90, comes with an 80GB hard drive. The current, 10in model, the U100, immediately gets a hard drive upgrade, to 120GB - the better to compete with rival SCCs, most notably Acer's Aspire One.
It's cheaper in pink, too
If 120GB's too much for you - or the price is - but you still want a 10in display, then how about the new pink U100, which swaps hard drive capacity for price. It's an 80GB model but costs £10 less than the U100: £319 ($575/€393).
All the machines come with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of memory, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, three USB ports, an Ethernet connecter, VGA out and an SDHC card slot.
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COMMENTS
And of course
And of course the 10" model brings it in line with the old light weight getting long in the tooth very tough and rugged alloy cased P2/P3 Toshiba Portege 3XXX series sold at the turn of the century for around USD$4000-00 give or take and a then massive hard drive of 6gig initially .
But in those days we didn't have to deal the bloatware sold now .
My times change in a mere eight years in the life of mobile computing , still very tempting though indeed and may be a goer after the usual review and full complete road test .
Joy of joys
I want to get a cheap laptop/PC to play on and learn a bit about *nix. I was going to use the g/f's old Compaq, but if the price was right (and I can get wireless etc working) I might buy my own.
Like others, I don't need powerful (got a beast of a desktop for that) I want cheap 'n cheerful.
vga?
Is that a blue VGA port I see on the side? Haven't they heard of DVI?
@William Old
If people in the UK has been successful in getting that rebate it's news to me. (Actually, I think one bloke did, a couple of years ago and posted his draft letter on line somewhere)
I went after HP several times including citing an Italian case but they still told me to drop dead.
MSI seems to be a bit of a shed near Heathrow and there's no-one to talk to. I got a polite "we'll investigate" letter. From the very "no headed notepaper" I could tell that one was dead in the water.
And I tried somewhere else, but I can't remember which one it was.
Bring on the EC Competition case about bundling (France?)
...need!
I just need to get my fix of the Ballmer with horns icon. I know, I should be quarantined and my reproductive privileges revoked.
I just need...you know...need...
Thank you Register, that feels so much better now.
