Newegg selling ASUS Eee Box with Red Flag Linux pre-installed

Well, Newegg just seems to be full of surprises these days. The latest example is this ASUS Eee Box (model EBXB202-BLK-E0037), which wouldn't be so remarkable if not for the fact that it comes pre-installed with the Chinese Linux distribution, Red Flag Linux. That helps bring the price down to just $189.99 after rebate, which also gets you the usual Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and the standard Intel integrated graphics. No word on the whole back story here, but it looks like this may well be the only readily available Red Flag Linux-based system available in the US right now.

[Thanks, Michael]

[techlord Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:00PM]

Can I installed Mac Leopard on that?

[Cydoniac Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:06PM]

@techlord Well those specs are near identical to a standard netbook's so it should be possible.

[One Love Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:14PM]

@techlord : looks like you already did it. :)

[abedinthehouse Posted Mar 9th 2010 7:15PM]

@One Love
Watch N Korea use this to spy on the US and find out what were watching and doing online in our TVs, n then stealing our subscriptions to Netflix lol

[Peteman100 Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:06PM]

Is disabling the Chinese government sponsored spyware an option at startup?

[thoraudio Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:36PM]

@Peteman100

There's a poll box, but they already decided what you voted for.

[wraith404 Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:24PM]

@Eternity
Sounds like an iPhone.

[larciel Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:06PM]

I want the 'Red Star' Linux!!

[mark29 Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:08PM]

@larciel Me too

[cdf74dc9 Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:09PM]

Look like as if they "borrowed" the design from HP blackbird.

[elduderino Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:11PM]

@cdf74dc9
thats just like, your opinion man.

[glennS Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:29PM]

@cdf74dc9

I'm pretty sure Asus has been using this design since the first EeePC, which predates the HP clone that you mentioned.

[max1001 Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:33PM]

@glennS
HP Black Bird is HP high end gaming line that's been around for several years.

[elduderino Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:23PM]

@cdf74dc9
im pretty sure nobody would mistake one for the other.

[RandomGuy Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:23PM]

@cdf74dc9 Besides if it was the communist version of the BlackBird, I am pretty sure it would be named Firefox.

[GGG Posted Mar 10th 2010 11:23AM]

@cdf74dc9

the design looks like a pretty generic box shape to me.

[Yoshi Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:09PM]

Surfing the internet should be an interesting exercise in futility.

[techlord Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:11PM]

Lets hope is not fake.

[joelaf Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:12PM]

Watching Black Flag music videos on Red Flag would be so.........

[AndrewNeo Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:16PM]

Augh, and I just paid $20 more for this a month ago!

[dez Posted Mar 9th 2010 6:16PM]

@AndrewNeo

I sure hope you'll be able to cover the difference, but in these hard economic times, who knows?

[One Love Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:20PM]

The king:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/05/asus-eeebox-eb1501u-packs-ion-and-usb-3-0-need-we-say-more/

[Ren021 Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:20PM]

look like a wireless router....

[glamajamma Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:20PM]

HEY jooz need 2 get your ~@~ teh intretet is P0wN U

[ToniCipriani Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:24PM]

If only it was the B206 model with ATI graphics instead of GMA...

[itsafish Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:25PM]

I thought it said red hat linux. that computer wouldnt be too good in a business enviroment the IT guy cant replace the stuff ( that was what i was thinking when i read it btw). and also how does that lower the price?

[zintinio Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:54PM]

@itsafish
No windows license to pay for. I think red flag linux is purchasable in China, but the price is a lot lower than a traditional windows license. It is around $4.00 i think, though I'm probably wrong.

[Widgetech Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:29PM]

Is red flag the chinese government's version?

(Hint-hint - red flag=socialism, red star=communism)

[Yoshi Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:36PM]

@Widgetech

Red Flag OS=China
Red Star OS=North Korea

[Widgetech Posted Mar 12th 2010 4:06PM]

@Yoshi

I'm perfectly aware...

[Nitesh Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:35PM]

Good...For low cost systems like these, Windows licences can be a large chunk of the pie. Either ship them with Linux, or nothing at all.

[bglf83 Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:47PM]

@Nitesh Ubuntu and many other Linux distros are free, why would they pick this distro?

[Bratyr Posted Mar 9th 2010 4:56PM]

What the hell? Is this even in english? They must be aiming for expat chinese customers... or they've just gone insane.

[Gregorian Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:00PM]

Perhaps it has excellent firewall and parental control software.

[ToniCipriani Posted Mar 9th 2010 11:36PM]

@Gregorian Green Dam runs on Windows...

[KBala Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:11PM]

Can anyone comment on if this would make a good netflix box (for SD videos, not HD). Will Microsoft Sliverlight run on the Atom N270? I would not mind having this as my cheap media PC. Thanks in advance.

[Spiny Norman Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:19PM]

@KBala

Probably. However, the Acer Revo is priced in the same ballpark, comes with Windows XP, and has the Ion LE chipset, which does a fairly decent job with HD content, in addition to SD.

[Beefstu Posted Mar 9th 2010 6:15PM]

@KBala Don't forget that it comes with Linux, surprisingly enough Microsoft doesn't support it too well. There is Moonlight which is an open source version which is coming along nicely, at the moment the Silverlight 3 equivilent version is in beta testing

[kinglance82 Posted Mar 9th 2010 9:55PM]

@KBala
I do not think Netflix streams to Linux unless your running Windows on it virtually. If netflix is necessary you will want to pay the extra 20 bucks for XP and install something like Boxee. If you want a linux media center use Linux Mint, it will be less hassle, then install Boxee. i have that and it shares files with XP without any issues, but vista and 7 have some issues.

[Metaluna Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:12PM]

Who will save us from the creeping Red Flag Linux menace? Why, Red Dawn Linux of course!

Wolverines!

[s2m0 Posted Mar 9th 2010 5:12PM]

I wonder if they ship the real thing? It *does* have "red flag" in the product title...

[albinomexi Posted Mar 9th 2010 6:09PM]

Counterfeit?

[kinglance82 Posted Mar 9th 2010 9:45PM]

IS IT ME, or is it ironic that a Taiwanese (founded by fighters whom were defeated by Mao) company is manufacturing a PC running Communist China's version of Linux? LOL thats progress!

[kingu Posted Mar 10th 2010 5:34AM]

@kinglance82 But then again, it looks like winXP, (last time i tried it at least. v5.0?) Which adds a twist to the whole story.

[kinglance82 Posted Mar 9th 2010 9:50PM]

UBUNTU SE is WAYY COOLER or should i say warmer?

[miki4242 Posted Mar 9th 2010 10:09PM]

Ubuntu SE? If you mean the version hacked together by mutant microserfs from Redmond suddenly turned tuxophiliacs, I can't wait for Ubuntu XP to be released
If you mean the Ubuntu SE with the pentagrams, upside down crosses, burning guitars etcetera, I can only pray for those poor lost souls to find peace with the True Shuttleworth--erhm Shepherd.

[SpacedOut Posted Mar 9th 2010 10:13PM]

Ubuntu is so much more powerful than this junk! If they wanted to keep the resources down, they could have put Xubuntu. Why must they do this to us! If not Ubuntu, then at least OpenSuSe or, if they're going to charge us anyway, Mandriva! It doesn't cost the OEMs THAT much....

[JO3RI Posted Mar 10th 2010 7:59AM]

I don't get this one. I have an eeebox with linux for over a year. In belgium we can buy this with xandros or windows. I now have ubuntu running on it with mythtv mediacenter: ok for SD not for HD

[Golf Charlie Niner Posted Mar 15th 2010 4:25AM]

This doesn't surprise me too much. I bought a not too dissiimilar model of Eee Box (EB1501, 250G HD) from Taiwan by EBay before Christmas. The machine came with a dual-language Chinese/English wireless keyboard, and a pre-installed copy of Red Flag Linux, which was duly overwritten with Ubuntu.

The product looked like an official version for the Taiwanese market, so it seems like Asus already have experience with putting a copy of Red Flag onto these machines in some countries.

[TomGilheany Posted Apr 23rd 2010 6:02PM]

Virtually EVERYONE I know has replaced the version of Linux that comes with this box, as it has only a tiny fraction of the features normally found in any modern flavor of Linux.

A handful of Linux distributions have issues with the Network & Graphics ports on these machines. I currently have CentOS 5.x running on multiple B202 boxes, which worked with the network. Had to set video to VESA to get graphics up. I'm not aware of WIRELESS working on these under any mainstream flavor of Linux out-of-the-box. You may need their USB DVD drive to make install easier, depending on your skills (makes things MUCH easier).

-->Tom