ASUS points finger at Intel over lack of Eee PC 901s in the UK

As if we needed any further developments to muddy the Eee PC waters, it seems that there's a curious lack of Linux-based Eee PC 901s available at stores in the UK at the moment, and ASUS is apparently laying the blame squarely at Intel, not Microsoft. As Register Hardware points out, that word comes after some speculation that Microsoft may have pressured ASUS to push the Windows XP-based Eee PCs more heavily, but an ASUS spokesperson insists that the company produces Linux and XP-based systems in equal amounts. The spokesperson adds, however, that Intel hasn't been able to supply enough Atom processors to allow ASUS to keep up its pace, which seems to suggest that the Linux-based 901s are harder to find simply because they're sold out. It looks like folks in the UK won't have to wait too much longer to get their Linux-fueled netbook fix, however, with some unspecified suppliers now pointing to increased availability in late July.

[Dan @ Jul 14th 2008 12:27PM]

"harder to find simply because their sold out" THEY'RE.

[apread @ Jul 14th 2008 12:29PM]

+1

[Dan @ Jul 14th 2008 12:47PM]

Thanks for fixing it, Donald. :)

[LondonConsultant @ Jul 14th 2008 12:49PM]

"they've" not "they're"...
I assume Asus sold out of products, but aren't morally sold out (yet).

[Hung @ Jul 14th 2008 1:02PM]

@ LondonConsultant

"...which seems to suggest that _the Linux-based 901s_ are harder to find simply because _they're_ sold out..."

The antecedent, "the Linux-based 901s," are not selling anything. They are being sold, and they have been sold out.

Have been = are/were
Have =/= were.

I hope you aren't an literary consultant.

[Hung @ Jul 14th 2008 1:08PM]

"The antecedent, 'the Linux-based 901s,' are not selling anything. They are being sold, and they have been sold out."

FIXED: The antecedent, "the Linux-based 901s," is not selling...

Hmmm, that raises an interesting question. In French, we always learned that the object closest to the operating verb determines the conjugation of the verb. I am unsure, however, if that rule hold true in standard American or British English. "Are" would be correct according to French grammar rules, but "is" appears to be the more accepted by angloglots. Good thing I didn't major in English/Journalism.

[LondonConsultant @ Jul 14th 2008 1:17PM]

To make this simple: "the products HAVE sold out" is correct usage; "the products ARE sold out" is incorrect usage.

Literary consultancy available at 80% discount on my usual PRINCE2 rates...

[ShadowKain @ Jul 14th 2008 3:43PM]

It is THEY ARE. Not their...their is possessive ASUS doesnt doesn't own "Sold Out"....take an English Class mate...

[Hung @ Jul 14th 2008 4:52PM]

Ok, let's look at this from a more precise perspective.

In "the products have sold out," "sold out" functions as a verb, because "have" can only be a helping verb (if "have" served as the verb, the meaning of the phrase changes to "the products possess sold out"). "Sold out" in the context of the article should mean "a state of inadequate supply." Thus, "sold out" MUST be a predicate adjective, a adjective which modifies the subject by relaying the subject's state or condition.

"Have" cannot be used to express being ("You have wrong" vs. "I am right"), so "are" or another "to be" verb must be placed before "sold out."

Cliffs:
•"Have sold out" can only be used to mean "one has run out out supply (ambiguous item) or "one has forgone his dignity in order to succeed." Its use can never mean "an item is sold out."
•"Have sold out (of stock)" is still incorrect, because the object (the stocked item) cannot also serve as the subject.
•American college student's English > British (supposedly) Consultant

[Kamokazi @ Jul 14th 2008 12:29PM]

"their sold out"

So Asus owns 'sold out'? I'm confused, I think you used a possesive when you meant to use a contraction. But Engadget editor proofreading couldn't be at fault, right?

[ph @ Jul 14th 2008 12:32PM]

Pedantic: s/their/they're/

[Hung @ Jul 14th 2008 1:07PM]

"The antecedent, 'the Linux-based 901s,' are not selling anything. They are being sold, and they have been sold out."

FIXED: The antecedent, "the Linux-based 901s," is not selling...

Hmmm, that raises an interesting question. In French, we always learned that the object closest to the operating verb determines the conjugation of the verb. I am unsure, however, if that rule hold true in standard American or British English. "Are" would be correct according to French grammar rules, but "is" appears to be the more accepted by angloglots. Good thing I didn't major in English/Journalism.

[Ian @ Jul 14th 2008 1:26PM]

The Linux based 901 is not selling....

The Linux based 901s are not selling.

[Hung @ Jul 14th 2008 5:56PM]

@ Ian

*Ahem*

"The antecedent, 901s, is" would be the accepted form, since the verb agrees with the subject "antecedent." To my knowledge (which I wouldn't absolutely trust), the verb would be conjugated for 3rd person plural since "901s" is closest to the verb, even though a 3rd person singular noun is the subject.

"The Linux based 901 is not selling....

The Linux based 901s are not selling." fails to address the matter at hand, since that's not the correct syntax of the quote.

durr.

[benmully @ Jul 14th 2008 1:07PM]

About bloomin' time! I been waiting ages for mine!

[BOGRASH @ Jul 14th 2008 2:22PM]

they HAVE not they've

[aquatsr @ Jul 14th 2008 4:04PM]

... we all know what the article meant to say so stop quibbling over grammar ...

[odysseus_nz @ Jul 14th 2008 6:14PM]

I call bullhockey on that. The word direct from the retailers is that they have received NO stock of Linux machines and will not be receiving them until late July. So they can't be selling out quicker as no-one has them to sell. The only way Asus can claim they are producing them in equal numbers and not pushing the WinXP version first is if they are selling out the Linux version in Taiwan or some other market, which I find a highly suspect statement.

[Echo1 @ Jul 14th 2008 5:40PM]

I know why there's a shortage of 901's; ASUS IS MAKING TOO MANY VERSIONS OF Eee!

[Darryl @ Jul 14th 2008 9:41PM]

But the beauty is that they're slashing prices. I don't think a 900 16 GB and a 701 4G are going to be the same price for long. Nonetheless, why can't they just have a customize thing for ordering? The number of models is approaching that of every possible combo of specs.

[Mark Lapasa @ Jul 15th 2008 12:54AM]

This is not just a UK issue. This is a N.America issue as well. I have yet to see an unboxing of a linux 901 from US and Canada.

ppls at eeeuser forum speculating a) 900's are overstocked and obsolete so ASUS needs to move units by deliberately deferring the release to extend the 900's dying retail window or b) as a part of a licensing deal, Micro$oft wants exclusive number of days of selling XP eee's before linux version.

[Infernoz @ Jul 20th 2008 1:04PM]

The other manufacturers (e.g. MSI and Acer) probably realised that the Atom was the real deal so put their orders in earlier, Asus probably realised a little later that they picked the wrong CPU, so now have to wait in line, so crocodile tears methinks :-P