While Microsoft has seen it fit to keep XP around as its "relatively non-bloated OS" alternative to the Linux that has dominated this new category of "ultra low-cost PCs" (ULPCs), they're certainly not giving away the farm. Microsoft doesn't want this version of XP Home creeping into mainstream laptops and desktops, where it might compete with Vista sales and high-margin machines from PC manufacturers. To that end, Microsoft is setting the limits for ULPCs at 10.2-inch screens, 80GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, 1GHz processors (with some exceptions) and no touchscreens. The upshot is that licenses for XP will go for $26 in developing nations and $32 elsewhere. Too bad the XP faithful among us will need to try a bit harder to wrangle XP onto new machines of theirs that don't fit these narrow specifications.

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.

The US smartphone market may continue to be dominated by mobile platforms from Apple, Microsoft, and RIM, but Linux has been creeping into ever more mobile devices in the last few years. Some Motorola RAZR 2 models have donned a Tux, Palm is looking to Linux to drive its next-generation consumer smartphones, and Android's backers hope to spread it to an even wider array of handsets. Linux is also driving many avant garde connected consumer electronics devices such as the Chumby, Nokia N810, Amazon Kindle, Dash Express, and whatever the fertile minds tinkering with Bug Labs' modules are envisioning,. Even the remote control that houses the user interface of Logitech's Squeezebox Duet is a Linux computer.

However, none of these products is intended for as flexible a range of uses as a notebook PC, where Linux is being tested as a tool to achieve lower price points on a new generation of low-cost but style-conscious ultraportables. ASUS set the pace with Xandros on the Eee PC, and HP has tapped Novell SuSE Linux for the 2133 Mini-Note, but whereas the Eee's positioning has been somewhat of a loose hybrid between an adult OLPC and the Nintendo Wii's culture of global inclusion, the HP Mini-Note has been strongly focused on reckless, immature students while acknowledging potential for senior executives that have been known to share their temperament.

As a whole, it's hard to kvetch too much about Logitech's Harmony line of universal remotes, but as a devout hacker once told us, there's always room for improvement. Phil Dibowitz has been pursuing this project for months, and it looks as if a final release is at long last ready for mass distribution. Put simply, Concordance enables the Harmony family to be programmed in UNIX (which Logitech's software doesn't support) as well as in Windows and Linux. Furthermore, Phil states that the goal is to be "cross-platform," so Mac users should keep an eye out for future updates. Currently, the software supports every model save for the 890 and 1000, though both will hopefully be added in soon. Go on, give the read link a tap and get started -- just don't come crying to us if your "Watch TiVo" command starts opening the boss' garage door.

[Via Hack-A-Day]

Don't act like you didn't have April 24th circled in your day planner -- heck, you probably stayed up all night hoping Hardy Heron 8.04 would be launched as the 24th dawned in Australia. Regardless of your level of fanaticism towards the OS, the latest flavor of Ubuntu is finally ready for mass consumption. You know what's waiting for your torrent manager right down there, so why on Earth are you still reading rather than downloading? Get!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in, image courtesy of doninside]

The recent shakeups at the top of the OLPC hierarchy have apparently claimed another victim, as OLPC News is reporting that Software and Content chief Walter Bender has just left the project. Rumor is that Nicholas Negroponte is going to transition the OLPC XO entirely to Windows XP to spur sales soon, and Bender is reportedly unhappy about that. What makes this all the more interesting is that when security director Ivan Krstić left the OLPC project last month, he specifically said he was unhappy that the restructuring no longer required him to work with Bender, and said that he could no longer "subscribe to the organization's new aims or structure in good faith." Looks like something's afoot at OLPC, and the old guard isn't happy about it. What say you, NickNeg?

We've never really thought of Red Hat as being a consumer-focused Linux provider, and it looks like the company is content to stay in the enterprise -- the company announced today that it has no plans to enter the consumer space. Red Hat says that as a for-profit public company, the focus on the bottom line precludes a risky bet on a consumer-oriented Linux desktop, and that it sees history as being "littered" with failures. Instead, the company is going to work on getting businesses to switch over to managed Linux desktops, which seems like a safe, if somewhat dull strategy. Still, that's a pretty big potential market to give up, especially as more and more UMPCs and MIDs hit the scene with Linux pre-loaded, and distros like gOS and Ubuntu (seven days till Hardy Heron, kids!) increase consumer awareness. Still, we can sort of see why Red Hat is willing to safely make money in the corporate game -- but we prefer our Linux a little more punk rock.

[Via Mobile Tech Today]

So much for the naysayers, huh? Although the hotly-anticipated Pandora is still doing its thang without a case in the most recent videos, the dev board is definitely handling the FinalBurn Alpha arcade emulator and MPlayer video viewer with ease. Yeah, we're still clueless about a definitive launch date, but feel free to hit the read link for a couple of clips sure to get you even more anxious for this thing's arrival.

[Thanks, Ben]

Still confused about the whole MID thing? Fret not, as you're certainly not alone in nodding your head furiously up and down. About the recent Bossaconference 08, one particular fellow managed to get some quality face time with Ubuntu Mobile and Moblin and break things down in bulleted fashion. Put simply, the former is a handheld (read: not phone / desktop) Linux OS that's optimized for touching and meant to be seen on 4- to 7-inch displays. As for the latter, it's merely a "project site for embedded Linux development," not an operating system in and of itself. Think you're ready to get schooled further? Tap the read link and dust off that Trapper Keeper.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

Don't look now, but mid-2008 is almost here, and for those waiting intently for the release of a LiMo SDK, you're one step closer to having your dreams realized. Announced today, the LiMo Foundation has made available what it calls the "first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile devices." According to Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation, the consortium is hoping that R1 will "spur rapid innovation and contributions from all LiMo members," and it's restated that software development kits for Native, WebKit and Java operating environments are set to launch during the second half of this year. Not one to sit idly, the entity has also announced that Release 2 is currently "being specified and developed," and should escape testing and greet the real world in late 2008.

[Via PhoneScoop]

After a week full of Red Bulls, Fruit by the Foot and dreams of In-N-Out, the mighty Sony VAIO loaded with Linux stood as the only machine unhacked by the end of the PWN 2 OWN hacking contest at CanSecWest. As you're well aware by now, the MacBook Air on display was seized in two minutes by the presumably well prepared Charlie Miller, and after two full days of work, Shane Macaulay and a few of his 1337 associates managed to crack the Vista rig on Friday. Reportedly, Shane and his pals weren't expecting to do battle with the extra protected SP1 version of Vista, and while the exact loophole won't be divulged, we are told that it was a cross-platform bug that "took advantage of Java to circumvent Vista's security." In the end, it was reported that some folks on hand had discovered bugs in the Linux OS, but many of them "didn't want to put the work into developing the exploit code that would be required to win the contest."

[Image courtesy of TippingPoint]

And just think -- last year you were singing Dino Dai Zovi's praises for taking control of a MacBook Pro in nine whole hours. This year, the PWN 2 OWN hacking competition at CanSecWest was over nearly as quickly as the second day started, as famed iPhone hacker Charlie Miller showed the MacBook Air on display who its father really was. Apparently Mr. Miller visited a website which contained his exploit code (presumably via a crossover cable connected to a nearby MacBook), which then "allowed him to seize control of the computer, as about 20 onlookers [read: unashamed nerds] cheered him on." Of note, contestants could only use software that came pre-loaded on the OS, so obviously it was Safari that fell victim here. Nevertheless, he was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement that'll keep him quiet until "TippingPoint can notify the vendor," but at least he'll have $10,000 and a new laptop to cuddle with during his silent spell.

Last year's PWN 2 OWN contest at the CanSecWest security conference went over way better than expected (read: exploits were glorified), so this year, organizers have spiced things up by letting hackers have their way with three separate machines. The Linux, OS X and Vista-based rigs were all setup as similarly as possible in order to "make sure the attack surface was the same on all of them." For attendees in Vancouver, there sits a $20,000 top prize -- which dwindles with each passing day as restrictions on attacks ease up -- but it can only be acquired if an all new zero-day cyber roundhouse kick is used. Anyone here going to give it a go? You get to keep the freshly victimized laptop too, you know.

Word on the street is that ASUS has joined the fray and released an SDK for its Eee line. According to the folks over at Eee Site, the Xandros-based software package is available for download as a 1.2GB disk image. Of course, since the mini-laptop's Linux-based OS is... well, Linux, it doesn't really seem like an SDK would be necessary. Could it be that the company is just jumping on the development bandwagon, which has gone from obscure hacker-geek territory to front page Apple news? Perhaps, but it's still nice to see developers getting some attention for once. Hit the read link to get your downloads -- and apps -- started.

[Via Eee Site]

It's not often we see a desktop surrounded by hordes of folks just waiting for reviews in order to pull the trigger (or not), but Shuttle's Foresight Linux-based KPC is one of those machines. The Celeron 430-powered box actually managed to hold its own, and oftentimes best, an overclocked 3.2GHz Pentium 4 rig in a number of everyday tasks (read: Office use, web browsing, etc.), and of course, accessing the internals in order to load in upgrades of your own was a lesson in simplicity. All in all, the KPC seemed to be a bargain for the price, particularly if you've got a spare mouse, keyboard and monitor already collecting dust and scouting a new partner in crime. Check out the read link to see precisely how this bugger scored an 8.0 out of 10 from Computer Shopper.

Sheesh -- as if the Eee PC, ONE, Cloudbook, G10IL and countless others weren't enough, now we've got one more low-cost laptop to keep track of. Aiming to arrive just a hair below that magical $300 price point, NorhTec is reportedly gearing up to introduce its Gecko laptop to the world, but the machine itself will be designed / built by Quanta. So far, we're hearing that it'll tout a 1GHz Via C7M ULV processor, an optional PATA hard drive, integrated graphics, a 7-inch display and the Linpus Linux Lite operating system. According to NorhTech's president Michael Barnes, "Linpus Lite is very similar to gOS," which we aren't exactly sure is something you'd really want to trumpet. Nevertheless, said bigwig also implied that the formal announcement of this here lappie would be happening soon -- let's just hope it actually stays under three bills.

[Via Eee Site]