Thursday, October 15, 2009

Classmate PC

The Classmate PC, formerly known as Eduwise, is Intel's entry into the market for low-cost personal computers for children in the developing world. It is in some respects similar to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) trade association's Children's Machine (XO), which has a similar target market. Although made for profit, the production of the Classmate PC is considered an Information and Communication Technologies for Development project. The device falls into the newly defined category of netbooks.

Intel World Ahead Program

Intel’s World Ahead Program was established May 2006. The program designed a platform for low cost laptops that third party manufacturers could use to produce low cost machines under their own respective brands.

The Classmate PC is a reference design by Intel. Intel does not build the subnotebooks, but does produce the chips that power them. The reference design is then used by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide to build their own branded Classmate PC.

[edit] Technology

[edit] Classmate PC (Clamshell, First Generation)

The reference hardware specifications as of September 28 2006 are:

  • Customized mini chassis 245 x 196 x 44
  • CPU: Intel Celeron M mobile processor (915GMS + ICH6-M)
  • CPU clock speed 900 MHz (with 32 KB L1 cache, no L2 cache, and 400 MHz FSB)
Intel Classmate PC

[edit] Second Generation (Convertible)

The successor of original Classmate design named 2go PC was announced in April 2008[2] and reviewed.[3] Later on, different photos of the successor leaked.[4] Photos of Classmate PC 3 as a tablet PC are available.[5] The second generation Classmate was unveiled on 3 April 2008 at Intel's Developer Forum. Significant upgrades include:

  • Available 30GB PATA hard drive (in addition to 1, 2, and 4 GB SSD).
  • Built-in webcam
  • Available 9" LCD (the 7" LCD is still available)
  • Up to 512MB RAM
  • 802.11s (mesh networking, currently only usable on Linux-based Classmates)
  • Available 6-cell battery for up to 6.5 hours usage
  • Touchscreen - pen and on-screen soft keyboard
  • Tablet mode — simple user-interface shell; quick launcher for tablet mode
  • Enhanced software — easier network connection and collaboration simple computer management, and localized, education-friendly content

[edit] Third Generation (Convertible)

Third generation of the Classmate PC

On Computex 2009 Intel presented the 3rd generation of the Classmate PC. It comes with a camera and a gravity sensors.

[edit] Intel-Powered Convertible Classmate PC

The Intel-powered classmate PC, also known as the CTL 2go, had its official release at CES in January 2009 and was aimed at students, teachers, and parents. The CTL 2go can be converted from a traditional laptop to a tablet PC to allow children to write and draw more naturally. The initial model includes the following:

  • Dual mode: tablet mode and traditional laptop mode.
  • When open like a traditional laptop, the screen swivels 180 degrees for easier sharing.
  • 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor
  • 1 GB RAM Memory (2 GB max)
  • 60GB Hard Disk Drive (PATA 1.8", ZIF socket)
  • 8.9 inch touch screen & advanced palm-resting technology.
  • Allows for writing or drawing directly on the screen.
  • Built-in camera rotates 180 degrees to enable students to interact in a new way
  • Portability: Carrying handle, lightweight and compact size.
  • Water-resistant keyboard
  • Education-specific features and touch-optimized software
  • SD Card Reader; documentation says that you can boot the system off an SD card, or a standard USB thumbdrive
  • Comes with either Windows XP installed (standard) or Windows XP Professional (an extra $186 on the 2go)

[edit] Software

Intel announced that its device would run either Linux or Windows XP Professional. Intel is not using Windows XP Embedded as initially planned. Intel has been actively working with various international and local Linux distributions in various countries.

Intel has worked with Mandriva to customize their Linux distribution for Classmate PC.[6][7]

Currently the Intel powered classmate PC has been shown to run the following Linux distributions:

[edit] Current sales

The Intel Classmate PC is available in many parts of the world. In some cases, the laptops are rebranded and sold through local vendors. ClassmatePCs are sold in the U.S. through Amazon.com and shopmanda.com.

[edit] Latin America

In Latin America, contingent upon the receipt of sufficient international fund monies, the Mexican and Brazilian governments are evaluating whether to buy Intel's or the OLPC's laptop.[8] Regardless of the hardware chosen, the Brazilian government announced that it would use the Linux operating system.[9] It has been confirmed that Intel will be shipping the Laptops with Mandriva Linux, Discovery 2007 edition[10] as well as the Classmate 2.0 Linux distribution by the Brazilian company Metasys.

Recently, Venezuelan government ordered 1 million Classmates from Portugal[11][12], one of several bilateral deals that Portuguese officials valued at more than US$3 billion.

Oscar Clarke, President of Intel of Brasil, delivered thirty production units to the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC), for evaluation by SERPRO (Federal Data Processing Service of Brazil).[citation needed]

It is currently available in Argentina through EXO.

[edit] Africa

In Africa, Intel has also started shipping to Libya as part of its deal of supplying 150,000 units.[13]

[edit] Asia

In Asia, it has been available in Indonesia since early March 2008, through two local brands: Axioo and Zyrex. The Zyrex brand, called Anoa, is a rebranded Classmate PC equipped with the Intel ULV 900 MHz (400 MHz FSB) processor, 512 MB RAM, 2 GB SSD, WiFi, LAN, 7 inch screen, 2 USB ports, card reader. The Classmate PC is available in Linux or Windows XP operating system, with the XP version incurring extra cost to cover the licensing.

The Classmate PC is currently available in India as HCL Infosystems Mileap-X series. This comes with Edubuntu pre-installed.

In late 2007 a deal was made with the Vietnamese government to supply local schools with a special Classmate PC for discounted price. As this version is loaded with Hacao Linux, the government was able to avoid operating system licensing fees.[14]

[edit] Europe and USA

The second generation of the device will be available in Europe and USA, in the hope that more sales will drive down the price.[15]

Classmate PC is available from CMS Computers in the United Kingdom[16] and most other European nations.

On the 20th of May 2008 Italian company Olidata announced the release of a modded version of the Classmate PC named Jumpc. This version was first on sale in Italy, but by the end of the year it was also available in many European countries.

On the 31st of July 2008, Intel, JP Sá Couto (the producer of the Tsunami Portuguese computers) and the Portuguese Government announced the production of the "Magalhães" (a tribute to Portuguese navigator Maggellan), a Classmate-based computer that will be produced in Portugal (by JP Sá Couto) and distributed to Portuguese children in primary education for 50€ (free or at 20€ for students on social aid), as well as being exported to other countries.[17]

Intel Classmate PC (the 7" version) is available in Greece, and sold as the InfoQuest "Quest Classmate", with a blue-coloured exterior. Its specifications include 2 GB storage, Windows XP Professional, no hard drive, no camera, and SD card support. It is sold by various retailers, including MediaMarkt.

Serbian leading IT company "COMTRADE" from April 2009 will introduce "ComTrade CoolBook" netbook (Classmate PC), they already donated 30 netbook's to one belgrade elementary school.

[edit] Canada

The Intel Classmate series in Canada is available through MDG Computers under the following brand names:

- The Intel Clamshell second generation is called the MDG Mini 8.9" Rugged Netbook PC [4]
- The Intel Convertible third generation is called the MDG Flip 8.9" Touchscreen Netbook PC [5]

They are currently being sold through sears.ca, theshoppingchannel.com, and zellers.

In Q4 of 2009 will be introducing the 10.1" versions of both netbooks at retail

[edit] Comparisons with OLPC project

The goals of the Classmate PC project and the OLPC project have some differences. The Classmate PC aims to provide technology that fits into the larger, primarily Windows-based computing environment.[18] Users in this environment learn about the technologies that currently dominate the computer world, but have the risk of vendor lock-in and lose flexibility by using proprietary and closed-source software. On the other hand, XO aims to provide children with a free and open-source software environment they can modify for themselves at no additional cost and that allows them to "learn through doing".[19]

While the OLPC uses hardware and software highly customized for the educational environment, Intel has argued that the developing world wants to have generic PCs. In December 2005, Intel publicly dismissed the XO as a 'gadget'.[20]

Intel joined the OLPC project in July 2007 and was widely expected to work on a version of the project's laptop that used an Intel chip, only to pull out of the project in January 2008. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said it had pulled out because the OLPC organization had asked it to stop backing rival low-cost laptops[21][22], while OLPC's founder Nicholas Negroponte has accused Intel of underhand sales tactics and trying to block contracts to buy his machines[23].

[edit] Technical comparison


 Classmate PC OLPC XO-1[24]
Processor Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz Processor

Intel Celeron M 900 MHz Processor

 AMD Geode LX700@0.8 W + 5536
Display 8.9" 1024 × 600 color LCD

7" 800 × 480 color LCD [25] 8.9" 1024 x 600 Touch Screen

 Low-power, sunlight readable, user replaceable LED backlight, low cost manufacturing process.

800×600 (color mode), 1200×900 (black and white mode) 7.5-inch LCD[26]
Memory 1 GB / 512MB DDR-II 256M (Linux only) or 512M SO-DIMM Tech Specs[27] 256 MiB dynamic RAM [28]
Operating Systems 1. Mandriva Linux Discovery 2007
2. Metasys Classmate 2.0
3. Ubuntu Education Edition for the ClassmatePC
4. Windows XP Professional[29]		 1. Customized, low resource version of open-source Fedora with the Sugar GUI and mesh networking
3. Customized, low resource version of open-source Ubuntu Linux with bundled open-source education applications
4. Customized, low resource version of proprietary Microsoft Windows XP without mesh networking for $10/laptop[30]
Storage 16GB / 8 GB / 4 GB Flash (1.8" HDD), 1 GB (Linux only), 2 GB, 4 GB Flash, 30GB HDD[31] 1024 MiB SLC NAND flash, high-speed flash controller
Environmental Impact
RoHS compliant, 2W power consumption, LiFePO4 batteries, designed for easy field maintenance to extend the laptop's lifespan [32]
Ruggedization Water-resistant keyboard, drop-proof construction, and sturdy, easy-to-clean plastic chassis [33] 2 mm case walls (instead of typical 1.3 mm), ports covered when closed. Dust, water resistant.[32]
Weight 1.25 kg–1.49 kg [34] 1.45KG- 1.58 kg [35]
Security Hardware-based theft deterrent.[31] Bitfrost
Audio Stereo 2 channel audio, built-in speakers and microphone, jack for external output and microphone input [31] AC97-compatible audio audio subsystem; internal stereo speakers and amplifier; internal monophonic microphone; jacks for external headphones and microphone; Analog Devices AD1888 and Analog Devices SSM2211 for audio amplification [35]
Camera 1.3 MP (rotated), One-click deployment and locking camera option, integrated 30frame/s @ 640x480,[31] Integrated camera at 640×480 resolution at 30FPS [35]
Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet WLAN 802.11b/g/n WLAN with antenna, fMesh support (Linux only) [31], Security: WPA, WPA-PSK, WPA2, WPA2-PSK Integrated 802.11b/g (2.4 GHz) interface; Mesh 802.11s networking supported [35]
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ASUS Eee PC

The Asus Eee PC is a subnotebook/netbook computer by Asus and a part of the Asus Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a light weight, Linux operating system, solid-state drive and relatively low cost. Newer models have added the option of Windows XP operating system and traditional hard disk drives.

According to Asus, the name Eee derives from "the three Es," an abbreviation of its advertising slogan for the device: "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play".[1]

History

[edit] Eee 700 series

Black 700 series unit side view showing the SD card reader, two USB ports, the VGA output and the Kensington Security Slot.

Asus announced two Eee PC models at COMPUTEX Taipei 2007; the Eee PC 701 and the Eee PC 1001.[2] The 701 base model Eee PC 4G was released on October 16, 2007 in Taiwan. Three additional models followed. The originally-announced second model (1001) was also expected, but later Asus renounced any plans to release it to the market. Asus sold over 300,000 units in 2007,[3] and planned to sell several million in 2008. Intel has described the Eee PC as in line with its “World Ahead” marketing drive—which aims to provide anyone around the world a chance to own a PC.[4]

Both the price and the size of the device are small in comparison with similar Ultra-Mobile PCs. The Eee series is one response to the XO-1 notebook from the One Laptop per Child initiative. At the Intel Developer Forum 2007, Asus demonstrated the Classmate PC and the Eee PC, and listed specifications for four models of the Eee PC. Asus at the time claimed that models may start at US$199, and range up in price and features to US$399.[5]

The final price and specifications for the Eee PC, officially announced in September 2007, was more expensive than Asus originally intended. The price rose to US$399, from US$199, while the size of the included solid-state drive remained 4 GB.[6] The 2G Surf has since gone on sale with 512 MB of RAM included.[7]

Since October 13, 2007 the Asus website shows revised specifications. In some countries, the products have the marketing names EeePC 8G, 4G, 4G Surf, and 2G Surf, though in other countries the machines are still designated by the model numbers 700 and 701.[8] The 4G Surf uses socketed RAM but some revisions do not have a door to access the slot.[9]

Asus announced a desktop version of the Eee PC, without an integrated display, to be released in 2008.[10] Asus announced that a version of the Eee PC with Microsoft Windows XP pre-installed would be released by the end of the year 2007. It was, however, not released until January 2008. In Japan the version is known as the 4G-X.[11]

A 4G Eee PC released on February 2, 2008 in the city of Mumbai, India and is being shipped with the customized Xandros OS and not the Windows XP Starter Edition.[12] From April 5, 2008[13] Asus plans to sell two versions of the Asus Eee PC with Windows XP. One of them will come with 8 GB solid state and a 4 GB SDHC card. The second version will be sold without the SDHC card. The Windows XP and Linux Xandros versions of the Eee PC will sell for the same price. The Windows version is planned to include Microsoft Works 9.0; the Linux version comes with OpenOffice.[14]

[edit] Eee 900 series

White 900 series

The Eee 900 series was officially launched in Hong Kong on April 16, 2008[15] and in the UK on May 1, 2008 for £329 (approximately 410 € or 650 US$ including VAT). The system was launched in the US on May 12, 2008.[16][17] The Eee 900 series with WindowsXP-OS was scheduled for launch in Germany and Austria on June 26, 2008. The Eee 900 series dimensions are a little larger than the 70x models–measuring 225 × 165 × 35 mm (WxDxH) (8.8" × 6.5" × 1.4") and weighing around 1 kg (2.2 lb).[18] The machine has a multi-touch trackpad that allow two-finger scrolling and zooming via a "pinch" gesture[19] and is available with Linux (in some markets) and/or Windows XP (in some markets) configurations.

The Linux version is called the EeePC 900 and comes with a 16 GB SSD. Some of these Eee PCs also have a 4 GB SSD installed similarly to that in the 701 for a total storage space of 20 GB.[20] Those that do not are referred to as the Asus EEE 900 16G. The Windows XP version is called the EeePC 900 Win and also comes in two versions: one with a total storage of 12 GB (one 4 GB SSD and one 8 GB SSD) and one with 16 GB (on a single SSD). The Linux 20G version is sold for the same price as the Windows 12G version. In the case for the 16G EEEs, the Windows version costs more than the Linux version.

The Windows version comes with Microsoft Works and Windows Live Suite preinstalled. It also includes StarSuite 8. The machines are otherwise identical to each other with 1 GB of RAM, an 8.9-inch (226 mm) 1024×600 LCD and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. This model has the same Celeron CPU as the Eee PC 700, running at its full 900 MHz clock speed (rather than the 630 MHz speed seen in the Eee PC 700).[21]

[edit] Other Eee 90x models

On June 3, 2008 Asus unveiled the Eee 901 at COMPUTEX Taipei, the 901 was a revision of the 900 series with a different chassis. The 901 features an Intel Atom Diamondville CPU clocked at 1.6GHz, an "expanded" battery (listed as 6-cell), and "Super Hybrid Engine" software for power management which will provide a battery life of 4.2 to 7.8 hours. Bluetooth and 802.11n Wi-Fi are also included. The 901 uses the Intel 945GME chipset.[22], meeting the requirements for Windows Vista Aero. The Eee PC 901 costs TWD 16,988 (approximately US$559). The 901 is otherwise similar to the 900, shipping in Linux or Windows XP configurations which have different sizes of SSD storage.[23][24] It was also discovered that the Eee 901 has capacity for a "3GCard" upgrade which may hint at a version of the 901 being released with inbuilt mobile connectivity.[25]

The Eee PC 901 "Linux" model featuring an advertised "20 GB SSD" storage actually contains two SSD drives; one 4GB and one 16GB. The 4GB drive has been reported to be faster than the 16GB drive. This should be noted for individuals who are attracted to this model's larger SSD storage offering but interested in installing a different operating system (Such as Windows or Linux).

The Eee PC 904HD [26] is one of the first Eee PC models which features an HDD (80GB) instead of an SSD. This model will feature an Intel Celeron M running at 900 MHz and gets its power from a 6-cell battery. Like other Eee PC 90x models this Eee PC also features 802.11 b/g WLAN and a 1.3M pixel webcam. Windows XP comes pre-installed.[27]

The Eee PC 900A features almost the same specs as the Eee PC 901 (except the primary SSD, Bluetooth, 1.3M pixel webcam and the 6-cell battery, that has been replaced by a 4-cell battery) but in a case nearly the same as used in the Eee PC 900 model.

[edit] Battery controversy

There has been some controversy regarding the battery supplied with the EeePC 900. Versions pre-released to many non UK journalists and reviewers were equipped with a 5800 mAh battery, but the first retail versions in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Singapore were shipped with a smaller, 4400 mAh (76% of that capacity) battery, which commentators note has led to a great variation in the machine's battery life in reviews,[28] in some cases as much as 90 minutes.[29] As a result of the objections to this, Asus provided a free battery replacement program in Hong Kong[30] and Singapore,[31] and ran a paid-for battery exchange program in the UK.[32] The UK battery exchange program ran from June 23, 2008 until July 31, 2008.[33]

Asus has stated that the smaller battery is the standard battery for the Eee 900 in Europe, and a longer warranty is provided in exchange,[34] Commentators have noted that the US version launched with the 5800 mAh battery, and a warranty of equal length.[35] Asus have revised their original statement, indicating that the smaller battery is "[p]resently the standard battery supplied in the UK" and "the default standard battery pack for Asus Eee PC 900 worldwide", however Asus will (from June 10, 2008) be providing a battery exchange to all UK Eee PC 900 customers for £10, and are offering a firmware update internationally which extends battery life by 30 minutes ("BIOS 0601: Updated all battery discharge tables to extend battery life").[36]

In Australia and Italy, the situation was reversed: journalists[37] and reviewers received EeePC 900 systems fitted with the 4400 mAh battery but the retail models are equipped with the 5800 mAh battery (in Italy at least at the beginning of sales).

Customers of Media Markt in Italy received the Eee at the beginning (May/June) with a 5800 mAh battery and later (June/July) with a 4400 mAh battery.

Best Buy's custom variants of the 1000HD and 900A also both include a 4400 mAh battery.

Part of the above problem extends from the fact that the entire range were substantially more successful than Asus had originally anticipated. Currently, Asus has several large complexes scattered throughout Taiwan and China, with the largest in the city of SooChow (China), being the size of eight football fields. Upon the unexpected success of the range, Asus factories worked around the clock to keep up supply and further development. Consequently, even within Asus testing labs in Taipei, many variations were found within test models. Generally, however, Asus does inform reviewers that the final retail model may contain different features to what is offered in the review model.

[edit] Eee 1000 series

Black 1000 series

The 1000 series launched at COMPUTEX Taipei on June 3, 2008.[38] It features a new 10-inch (254 mm) screen and a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, although built in power management software can increase the speed to 1.7 GHz. The 1000 model ships with Linux, 8 GB SSD and a 32 GB SSD (total: 40 GB); the 1000H model ships with Windows XP Home or Linux and an 80 or 160 GB SATA HDD. Both the 1000 and the 1000H support up to 2 GB of DDR2 RAM. The 1000 has a rated battery life of 4.2-7.5 hours, while the 1000H is rated for 3.2–7 hours. It also offers a keyboard that is 92% the size of generic notebooks, aiming to make it more comfortable to type. Like the Eee PC 901, the new machines feature 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. WiMAX is not currently supported.[23][24][39]
The 1000HD released in September 2008 is a slightly cheaper version of the 1000 series. It features the same specifications as the 1000H except it uses a 900Mhz Celeron CPU chip.
The 1000HA released in October 2008 also costs less than the 1000H but has the same Intel Atom 1.6 GHz CPU, 160 GB HDD, and 1 GB of RAM. It also has wireless and some models present Bluetooth. The 1000XPH has the same Intel Atom 1.6 GHz CPU, only 80 GB HDD, and 1 GB of RAM. 10/100 LAN, 802.11 b/g Wireless LAN, Integrated Webcamera but no Bluetooth.

In February 2009, Asus unveiled the 1000HE, using the new Intel Atom 280 processor with a 10-inch LED-lit screen, 6-cell battery, 160 GB HDD, Bluetooth, 802.11n wireless networking, and a revised keyboard. Asus also claims the battery will last for 9.5 hours.[40][41]

At CeBIT 2009, Asus unveiled the 10-inch EEE 1008HA, introducing the new design concept "Seashell".[42]

The 1005HA comes in three models, from least to most expensive they are the 1005HA-B, the 1005HA-V and the 1005HA-P. The 1005HA-B has a removable 3 cell battery with rated 4 hour life, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and uses the N270 processor. At the higher end, the 1005HA-P has a removable 6 cell, 5600 mAh, 63 Wh battery with rated 10.5 hour battery life, a 1.3 megapixel camera and uses the N280 processor.[43][44]

[edit] Future models

Microsoft is reportedly in talks with Asus regarding a version of Windows 7 optimized for platforms such as the Eee.[45] Future models will ship with WiMax in the later part of the year.[46]
Asus announced on September 25, 2008, that they will be including built in 3.75G HSUPA on the 901 starting in October, 2008. They will be including 3.75G in the higher models such as the 1000 series after this time.[47]
At CES 2009 Asus presented the T91[48] and the T101H[49] models which will feature a multitouch trackpad and a convertible touchscreen. The T91 also features GPS and TV tuner. The models are said to be available within the first quarter of 2009,[50] however a representative unofficially stated that the T91 should be available within the 3rd-4th quarter of 2009 in the US, due to the fact that the units are still being tested as of late June 2009.

[edit] Technical overview

Asus Eee PC 700 (black model), compared with tissues and Kensington lock

[edit] Processor

The earliest Eee PC models used a 900 MHz Intel Celeron M processor underclocked to 630 MHz. Later models shipped with this processor at normal speed. Newer models use a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. The Atom is a simple, scalar, in-order execution microprocessor that is significantly slower per-clock than the Celeron M due to its microarchitecture. Still, 1.6 GHz Atom-equipped Eee PCs tend to perform similarly to their Celeron-equipped counterparts, due to the higher clock speeds and Hyperthreading. The desirability of the Atom lies in its low power consumption compared to even mobile-rated processors such as the Intel Celeron-M.

Budget models, and versions of current models, also feature Celeron processors. For instance:

  • 1000HD (distinct from 1000, 1000H and 1000HA)
  • 904HD

[edit] Display

The Eee PC 700 has a 800×480 pixels 7 inch (178 mm) display, measured diagonally.[51] The screen does not cover the entire space within the lid; instead it is flanked on the sides by stereo speakers and, above, by the (optional) camera in the trim at the top. The Eee PC 900 and 901 come with a 1024x600 pixels 8.9-inch (226 mm) display, almost filling the lid, and became available in early 2008.[52]

The Eee PC 1000 comes with a 10" inch (254 mm) or 10.2" inch (259 mm) display with 1024 x 600 display.

With all models, an external display can be supported through a standard VGA connector. The manufacturer does not give any specifications on maximum resolution and display configuration (mirroring, extended desktop), but most models can handle an external display at native resolution of 1680 x 1050, and even 1920 x 1200 although performance starts to slow down. Models that ship with Linux (Xandros) do not have access to the full capacity of the external VGA output, allowing only 'mirroring'. Users must either switch operating systems (e.g. Win XP or Ubuntu) or reconfigure their xorg.conf file to allow the higher resolution output.

[edit] Keyboard

On a normal, "full size" computer keyboard, the 10 keys Q–P measure 190 mm (7.48 in). The 700 and 900 series are equipped with similar keyboards, 82 % size of a generic one, meaning that the Q–P keys measure 155 mm (6.10 in). The 1000 series, as it fits in a spacier case, has 92 % of a full size keyboard, where the Q–P keys measure 175 mm (6.89 in).

The 1000HE's revised keyboard is similar to keyboards used in Apple computers and Sony's VAIO series, where the keys are reminiscent of Scrabble tiles, being spaced apart and raised from the actual surface.

[edit] Storage

Removable 8 GB SSD in Eee PC

The early model Eee PCs use a solid-state drive for storage (instead of a hard drive), which consumes less power when in use, allows the device to boot faster, generates no noise, and is less susceptible to mechanical shock damage than hard drives. A down side of SSD storage (flash memory) is that an individual sector can only be written about 100,000 times. This problem can be partially mitigated by intelligent wear leveling, resulting in a MTBF comparable to conventional platter-based hard drives.

In the 2 GB and 4 GB models of the 700 series of the Eee PC, the SSD is permanently soldered to the board, to reduce manufacturing costs[citation needed]. In the 8 GB model, the SSD is a card connected via the internal PCI Express Mini Card connector, leaving the original SSD area on the motherboard empty.[53]

The Eee PC 900 comes with a removable PCI Express Mini SSD module, with or without four additional 1 GB memory chips soldered on the main board. Different models come with different-sized SSDs. One Linux version has 4 GB, an XP version has 8 GB, and all remaining ones (XP or Linux) have 16 GB.

The Eee PC 1000 uses an 8 GB internal SSD, with a 32 GB PCI Express Mini SSD module for a total of 40 GB. [54]

Some models, such as the 1000H and 904HD do not have a SSD, and instead have a SATA internal hard drive of either 80 or 160 GB, which can be upgraded by the user.

All Eee PC models also include a memory card reader, supporting SD, SDHC and MMC cards for additional storage while the Eee pc S101 also has support for Memorystick and MS-PRO.

[55]

Eee PC 1004DN is the first model with a Super-Multi optical disc drive (ODD) that reads and writes data to DVD or Compact Disc[56]

[edit] RAM

Most EEE PCs use 533/667 MHz DDR2 RAM via a standard SO-DIMM module, which can be swapped out. The 700 and 701SDX have RAM soldered to the motherboard.

The black model EEEPC 4G SURF (4GS-PK008), and newer white models (4GS-W010) have a removable panel on their underside that allows the user to change the RAM without fully disassembling the system, whereas the older white models (4GS-W010) lacks this access panel, meaning the user would have to disassemble the system to upgrade the RAM.[57]

The hardware supports up to 4 GB (2 GB for the 1000 series, and some of the 900 series),[citation needed] but the preinstalled Xandros kernel of the 700 series only supports up to 1 GB.

[edit] Cooling

In an EE380 talk[58] (video archive), an Asus engineer mentioned that the Eee PC does not use a conventional heat sink to absorb the heat generated by the processor, but instead uses the keyboard shielding to spread the heat. The Eee PC has a fan, and some vents to also cool off the system.

[edit] Software

OpenOffice.org Writer running on the Eee PC

The Eee PC is available in stores with 2 Different operating systems, Windows XP Home and Xandros a Linux version. The models with differing operating systems generally contain different hardware specifications, with Linux models tending to have lesser hardware specs, but cheaper price tags. The Xandros system boots in 20–22 seconds,[59] substantially faster than the boot time for an installation of Windows XP on the same hardware.[60]

[edit] Linux on the Eee PC

The Linux version of the Eee PC runs a custom tab-based interface and uses IceWM as the default window manager, and comes with forty bundled software applications including OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox, Skype,[61] Tux Paint and other educational entertainment software, e-mail and Internet radio applications, and look-up tools for Google Docs and Wikipedia.[62]

The operating system drivers for the ACPI and Wireless devices supplied with the pre-installed Xandros operating system are versions of software licensed under the GNU General Public License. The company released the source code as a ZIP file along with the product; however, it has been reported that a small percentage of the source may be missing, and some device driver software appears obfuscated.[63] In the absence of necessary source code, other Linux kernel versions and distributions on the device are less easy to use with some of the hardware. Asus has requested people help by identifying specific source code which is still missing[64] and has since released the source code for the ACPI module.[65] They have also released the patched Linux kernel sources and their Busybox sources.[66]

The Synaptic Package Manager and apt-get can be used to install additional software through the repositories.

[edit] Forks and other distributions

Current Asus Linux development policy generates forks of code as they change. This means that their changes do not go directly into upstream versions and remain available only through Asus source code releases. If one wants to change to another distribution or update the software, it is necessary to determine what has been changed (using, for example, the diff utility) and port into a newer version or other distribution.

For example, the EEE PC 900 model has a sound card that required some modifications to the Linux kernel driver in order to work. Asus' modifications were against version 2.6.21.4 from June 2007. At current version 2.6.26 as of July 2008, such modifications were not yet merged to the official Linux kernel. Thus other distributions will not have such modifications and will not work properly on EEE PC 900 devices (specifically, the microphone won't work). Latest ALSA drivers 1.0.17 (as of July 2008) incorporated the changes necessary to work with EEE PC 900.

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Toshiba Libretto

The Libretto is a discontinued line of subnotebook computers designed and produced by Toshiba. The line was distinguished by its combination of functionality and small size, squeezing a full Windows PC into a device small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. The first model, the Libretto 20, was released on 17 April 1996, with a volume of 821 cm³ and weighing just 840 g. In contrast the contemporary, full-sized Apple PowerBook 1400 had a volume of 2833.6 cm³ and weighed 3.04 kg. The original Libretto line was discontinued in Europe and the U.S. in 1999. Production continued in Japan with the SS, FF and then the L series until 2001. The L series range of Librettos were released in 2001 (in Japan only) and were produced for just 11 months. Production of all Librettos ceased from 2001 until the release of the Libretto U100 in 2005.

[edit] Models

There are several different models. Originally, they used 486 processors from AMD. Beginning with the Libretto 50, they used the Intel Pentium and Pentium MMX processors. With the introduction of the L series in 2001, a move was made to the Transmeta Crusoe processor. The U100 of 2005 returned to Intel with a Pentium M processor.

The following models were available:

Model Specifications Dimensions (mm) Mass (g)
Libretto 20 AMD 486 DX4 75 MHz, 8 MB RAM (20MB max), 270 MB hard disk, 6.1" TFT display 210×115×34 840
Libretto 30 AMD 486 DX4 100 MHz, 8 MB RAM (20MB max), 500 MB hard disk, 6.1" TFT display 210×115×34 " "
Libretto 50 Intel Pentium 75 MHz, 16 MB RAM (32MB max), 810 MB hard disk, 6.1" TFT display 210×115×34 850
Libretto 50m Specification as Libretto 50 + 6.1" TFT touch screen display specially built for the Meiji Life insurance company in Tokyo
n/a
Libretto 60 Intel Pentium 100 MHz, 16 MB RAM (32MB max), 810 MB hard disk, 6.1" TFT display 210×115×34 850
Libretto D2 A rebadged L60, also known as the M2 (Mobile Pack2) released by NTT DoCoMo with PCMCIA Modem Card for use with the DoCoMo CDMA Network (Released only in Japan) 210×115×34 " "
Libretto 70 Intel Pentium 120 MHz MMX, 16 MB RAM (32MB max), 1.6 GB hard disk, 6.1" TFT display 210×115×34 " "
Libretto 100 Intel Pentium 166 MHz MMX, 32 MB RAM (64MB max), 2.1 GB hard disk, 7.1" TFT display 210×132×35 950
Libretto SS1000 Intel Pentium 166 MHz MMX, 32 MB RAM (96MB max), 2.1 GB (6.5 mm high ) HDD, 6.1" TFT display 215×125×24.5 820
Libretto SS1010 Intel Pentium 233 MHz MMX, 64 MB RAM (96MB max), 2.1 GB (6.5mm high) HDD, 6.1" TFT display. (Released only in Japan) 215×125×24.5 " "

Libretto M3 Intel Pentium 133 MHz MMX, 32 MB RAM (96MB max), 2.1 GB hard disk, 6.1" TFT display. (Released only in Japan by NTT DoCoMo) 210×132×43 985
Libretto 110 Intel Pentium 233 MHz MMX, 32 MB RAM (64MB max), 4.3 GB hard disk, 7.1" TFT display 210×132×34 950
Libretto ff 1050 Intel Pentium 233 MHz MMX, 32 MB RAM (96MB max), 3.2 GB hard disk, 6" STN display. Optional multimedia remote (Released only in Japan) 221×132×29.8 900
Libretto ff 1100 Intel Pentium 266 MHz MMX, 64 MB RAM (SO-DIMM expandable to 128MB), 3.2 GB hard disk, 7.1" TFT display, built-in digital camera & multimedia remote controller. (Released only in Japan) 221×123×29.8 980
Libretto ff 1100v As per ff1100 but with 6.4 GB hard disk (Released only in Japan) 221×123×29.8 " "


In 2001, Toshiba released the L series range of Librettos. This was the first major change of footprint since the range was first introduced and represented a significant improvement in performance over the previous models, however it also represented a significant increase in overall size. The L series had moved the Libretto range away from what was a UMPC, to that of an early Netbook.

The L1 had built in USB and IEEE1394 Firewire. The L2 dropped the IEEE1394 in favor of an Ethernet Port. The L5 was optionally available with built in Wifi 802.11b

Like the majority of Librettos models produced, the L series were not officially available outside of Japan.

Model Specifications Dimensions (mm) Mass (g)
Libretto L1 Transmeta Crusoe 600 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 10 GB hard disk, 10" TFT display 268×167.2×20.5 1100
Libretto L2 Transmeta Crusoe 600 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 10 GB hard disk, 10" TFT display 268×167.2×20.5 " "
Libretto L3 Transmeta Crusoe 600 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk, 10" TFT display 268×167.2×20.5 " "
L3 Adidas Edition Transmeta Crusoe 600 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk, 10" TFT display 268×167.2×20.5 " "
Libretto L5 Transmeta Crusoe 800 MHz, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk, 10" TFT display 268×167.2×20.5 " "

In 2005, Toshiba announced a new model, the Libretto U100:

Model Specifications Dimensions (mm) Mass (g)
Libretto U100 Intel Pentium M 753 @ 1.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM (1 GB Max), 60GB HDD (1.8in Micro ATA), 7.2 in TFT active matrix LCD display 210×165×29.8 980
Libretto U105 As per U100 with different Bundled options. 210×165×29.8 980
Libretto U100-S213 US Market version. As per U100. 210×165×29.8 980

All 3 of the above were essentially the same machine but with different options. The U100 was available in Europe with either a 30GB HDD (with Win XP Home) or 60GB HDD, (with Xp Pro) and a DVD Dock.

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Intel 8086

History

[edit] Background

In 1972, Intel launched the 8008, the first 8-bit microprocessor[3]. It implemented an instruction set designed by Datapoint corporation with programmable CRT terminals in mind, that also proved to be fairly general purpose. The device needed several additional ICs to produce a functional computer, in part due to its small 18-pin "memory-package", which ruled out the use of a separate address bus (Intel was primarily a DRAM manufacturer at the time).

Two years later, in 1974, Intel launched the 8080[4], employing the new 40-pin DIL packages originally developed for calculator ICs to enable a separate address bus. It had an extended instruction set that was source- (not binary-) compatible with the 8008 and also included some 16-bit instructions to make programming easier. The 8080 device, often described as the first truly useful microprocessor, was nonetheless soon replaced by the 8085 which could cope with a single 5V power supply instead of the three different operating voltages of earlier chips.[5] Other well known 8-bit microprocessors that emerged during these years were Motorola 6800 (1974), Microchip PIC16X (1975), MOS Technology 6502 (1975), Zilog Z80 (1976), and Motorola 6809 (1977), as well as others.

[edit] The first x86 design

The 8086 was originally intended as a temporary substitute for the ambitious iAPX 432 project in an attempt to draw attention from the less-delayed 16 and 32-bit processors of other manufacturers (such as Motorola, Zilog, and National Semiconductor) and at the same time to top the successful Z80 (designed by former Intel employees). Both the architecture and the physical chip were therefore developed quickly (in a little more than two years[6]), using the same basic microarchitecture elements and physical implementation techniques as employed by the older 8085, and for which it also functioned as its continuation. Marketed as source compatible, it was designed so that assembly language for the 8085, 8080, or 8008 could be automatically converted into equivalent (sub-optimal) 8086 source code, with little or no hand-editing. This was possible because the programming model and instruction set was (loosely) based on the 8080. However, the 8086 design was expanded to support full 16-bit processing, instead of the fairly basic 16-bit capabilities of the 8080/8085. New kinds of instructions were added as well; self-repeating operations and instructions to better support nested ALGOL-family languages such as Pascal, among others.

The 8086 was sequenced[7] using a mix of random logic and microcode and was implemented using depletion load nMOS circuitry with approximately 20,000 active transistors (29,000 counting all ROM and PLA sites). It was soon moved to a new refined nMOS manufacturing process called HMOS (for High performance MOS) that Intel originally developed for manufacturing of fast static RAM products[8]. This was followed by HMOS-II, HMOS-III versions, and, eventually, a fully static version designed in CMOS and manufactured in CHMOS.[9] The original chip measured 33 mm² and minimum feature size was 3.2 μm.

The architecture was defined by Stephen P. Morse and Bruce Ravenel. Jim McKevitt and John Bayliss were the lead engineers of the development team and William Pohlman the manager. While less known than the 8088 chip, the legacy of the 8086 is enduring; references to it can still be found on most modern computers in the form of the Vendor ID entry for all Intel devices, which is 8086H (hexadecimal). It also lent its last two digits to Intel's later extended versions of the design, such as the 286 and the 386, all of which eventually became known as the x86 family.

[edit] Details

[edit] Buses and operation

All internal registers as well as internal and external data buses were 16 bits wide, firmly establishing the "16-bit microprocessor" identity of the 8086. A 20-bit external address bus gave an 1 MB (segmented) physical address space (220 = 1,048,576). The data bus was multiplexed with the address bus in order to fit a standard 40-pin dual in-line package. 16-bit I/O addresses meant 64 KB of separate I/O space (216 = 65,536). The maximum linear address space were limited to 64 KB, simply because internal registers were only 16 bits wide. Programming over 64 KB boundaries involved adjusting segment registers (see below) and were therefore fairly awkward (and remained so until the 80386).

Some of the control pins, which carry essential signals for all external operations, had more than one function depending upon whether the device was operated in "min" or "max" mode. The former were intended for small single processor systems whilst the latter were for medium or large systems, using more than one processor.

Registers and instructions

The 8086 had eight (more or less general) 16-bit registers including the stack pointer, but excluding the instruction pointer, flag register and segment registers. Four of them (AX,BX,CX,DX) could also be accessed as (twice as many) 8-bit registers (AH,AL,BH,BL, etc), the other four (BP,SI,DI,SP) were 16-bit only.

Due to a compact encoding inspired by 8085 and other 8-bit processors, most instructions were one-address or two-address operations which means that the result were stored in one of the operands. At most one of the operands could be in memory, but this memory operand could also be the destination, while the other operand, the source, could be either register or immediate. A single memory location could also often be used as both source and destination which, among other factors, further contributed to a code density comparable to (often better than) most eight bit machines.

Although the degree of generality of most registers were much greater than in the 8080 or 8085, it was still fairly low compared to the typical contemporary minicomputer, and registers were also sometimes used implicitly by instructions. While perfectly sensible for the assembly programmer, this complicated register allocation for compilers compared to more regular 16- and 32-bit processors (such as the PDP-11, VAX, 68000, etc); on the other hand, compared to contemporary 8-bit microprocessors (such as the 8085, or 6502), it was significantly easier to generate code for the 8086 design.

As mentioned above 8086 also featured 64 KB of 8-bit (or alternatively 32 K-word or 16-bit) I/O space. A 64 KB (one segment) stack growing towards lower addresses is supported by hardware; 2-byte words are pushed to the stack and the stack top (bottom) is pointed out by SS:SP. There are 256 interrupts, which can be invoked by both hardware and software. The interrupts can cascade, using the stack to store the return address.

The processor had some new instructions (not present in the 8085) to better support stack based high level programming languages such as Pascal and PL/M; some of the more useful ones were push mem-op, and ret size, supporting the "pascal calling convention". (Several others, such as push immed and enter, would be added in the subsequent 80186, 80286, and 80386 designs.)

Flags

8086 has a 16 bit flag register. Out of these, 9 are active, and indicate the current state of the processor. These are — Carry flag, Parity flag, Auxiliary flag, Zero flag, Sign flag, Trap flag, Interrupt enable flag, Direction flag and Overflow flag.

Segmentation

There were also four sixteen-bit segment registers (CS, DS, SS, ES, standing for "code segment", "data segment", "stack segment" and "extra segment") that allowed the CPU to access one megabyte of memory in an unusual way. Rather than concatenating the segment register with the address register, as in most processors whose address space exceeded their register size, the 8086 shifted the segment register left 4 bits and added it to the offset address (physical address = 16·segment + offset), producing a 20-bit effective address from the 32-bit segment:offset pair. As a result, each physical address could be referred to by 212 = 4096 different segment:offset pairs. This scheme had the advantage that a small program (less than 64 kilobytes) could be loaded starting at a fixed offset (such as 0) in its own segment, avoiding the need for relocation, with at most 15 bytes of alignment waste. The 16-byte separation between segment bases was known as a "paragraph".

Compilers for the 8086 commonly supported two types of pointer, "near" and "far". Near pointers were 16-bit addresses implicitly associated with the program's code or data segment (and so made sense only in programs small enough to fit in one segment). Far pointers were 32-bit segment:offset pairs. C compilers also supported "huge" pointers, which were like far pointers except that pointer arithmetic on a huge pointer treated it as a flat 20-bit pointer, while pointer arithmetic on a far pointer wrapped around within its initial 64-kilobyte segment.

To avoid the need to specify "near" and "far" on every pointer and every function which took or returned a pointer, compilers also supported "memory models" which specified default pointer sizes. The "small", "compact", "medium", and "large" models covered every combination of near and far pointers for code and data. The "tiny" model was like "small" except that code and data shared one segment. The "huge" model was like "large" except that all pointers were huge instead of far by default. Precompiled libraries often came in several versions compiled for different memory models.

In principle the address space of the x86 series could have been extended in later processors by increasing the shift value, as long as applications obtained their segments from the operating system and did not make assumptions about the equivalence of different segment:offset pairs. In practice the use of "huge" pointers and similar mechanisms was widespread, and though some 80186 clones did change the shift value, these were never commonly used in desktop computers.

According to Morse et al., the designers of the 8086 considered using a shift of eight bits instead of four, which would have given the processor a 16-megabyte address space.[10].

Subsequent expansion

The 80286's protected mode extended the processor's address space to 224 bytes (16 megabytes), but not by increasing the shift value. Instead, the 16-bit segment registers supply an index into a table of 24-bit base addresses, to which the offset is added. To support old software the 80286 also had a "real mode" in which address calculation mimicked the 8086. There was, however, one small difference: on the 8086 the address was truncated to 20 bits, while on the 80286 it was not. Thus real-mode pointers could refer to addresses between 100000 and 10FFEF (hexadecimal). This roughly 64-kilobyte region of memory was known as the High Memory Area, and later versions of MS-DOS could use it to increase available low memory.

The 80386 increased both the base address and the offset to 32 bits and introduced two more general-purpose segment registers, FS and GS. The 80386 also introduced paging. The segment system can be used to enforce separation of unprivileged processes in a 32-bit operating system, but most operating systems using paging for this purpose instead, and set all segment registers to point to a segment with an offset of 0 and a length of 232, giving the application full access to its virtual address space through any segment register.

The x86-64 architecture drops most support for segmentation. The segment registers still exist, but the base addresses for CS, SS, DS, and ES are forced to 0, and the limit to 264.

In x86 versions of Microsoft Windows, the FS segment does not cover the entire address space. Instead it points to a small data structure, different for each thread, which contains information about exception handling, thread-local variables, and other per-thread state. The x86-64 architecture supports this technique by allowing a nonzero base address for FS & GS.

Porting older software

Small programs could ignore the segmentation and just use plain 16-bit addressing. This allowed 8-bit software to be quite easily ported to the 8086. The authors of MS-DOS took advantage of this by providing an Application Programming Interface very similar to CP/M as well as including the simple .com executable file format, identical to CP/M. This was important when the 8086 and MS-DOS was new, because it allowed many existing CP/M (and other) applications to be quickly made available, greatly easing the acceptance of new platform.

Performance

Although partly shadowed by other design choices in this particular chip, the multiplexed bus limited performance slightly; transfers of 16-bit or 8-bit quantities were done in a four-clock memory access cycle.[11] As instructions varied from 1 to 6 bytes, fetch and execution were made concurrent (as it remains in today's x86 processors): The bus interface unit fed the instruction stream to the execution unit through a 6 byte prefetch queue (a form of loosely coupled pipelining), speeding up operations on registers and immediates, while memory operations unfortunately became slower (4 years later, this performance problem was fixed with the 80186 and 80286). However, the full (instead of partial) 16-bit architecture with a full width ALU meant that 16-bit arithmetic instructions could now be performed with a single ALU cycle (instead of two, via carry), speeding up such instructions considerably. Combined with orthogonalizations of operations versus operand-types and addressing modes, as well as other enhancements

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