Linux

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about netbooks via IdeaStorm and through @Dell_Mini on Twitter since we asked you to join us last week. Since then, we've received lots of ideas and have over 150 followers on Twitter. We look forward to your continued feedback.

One of the first things we noticed at our @Dell_Mini Twitter account was that some of you are interested in running Android on a Dell Mini. I went looking for Doug Anson who’s one of our software gurus in the Office of the CTO to get his thoughts. He and other folks at Dell like him are responsible for investigating future technology options in our products.

Update: Just saw a tweet from Doug that he's kicking the tires on Moblin.

In this video, he shows off a couple of Mini 10v systems running Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Android where he had network and browsing functionality without too much of a fuss.

For more, take a look:

There's been a fair bit of discussion recently about Wolfram Alpha's upcoming launch of what they are calling their "computational knowledge engine." 

The Independent wrote a lengthy article on the capabilities of the new search tool, suggesting that it is "an invention that could change the Internet forever." They summarize what they consider to be the major milestones of the Internet with Wolfram Alpha's launch as one of seven events that are remarkable.

Worldwide network: A brief history of the internet (source: The Independent, May 3, 2009)

• 1969 The internet is created by the US Department of Defense with the networking of computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute.
• 1979 The British Post Office uses the technology to create the first international computer networks.
• 1980 Bill Gates's deal to put a Microsoft Operating System on IBM's computers paves the way for almost universal computer ownership.
• 1984 Apple launches the first successful 'modern' computer interface using graphics to represent files and folders, drop-down menus and, crucially, mouse control.
• 1989 Tim Berners-Lee creates the world wide web – using browsers, pages and links to make communication on the internet simple.
• 1996 Google begins as a research project at Stanford University. The company is formally founded two years later by Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
• 2009 Dr Stephen Wolfram launches Wolfram Alpha.

Other's haven't lacked opinions and reviews of the service. Cnet's Rafe Needleman and Stephen Shankland got an inside look and have given their thoughts in this article and in this one, as have ZDNet's Sam Diaz and Larry Dignan.

Just when everyone had become overly fixated on who would acquire Twitter, along comes a company from Champaign, Illinois, to shake things up. For those under the age of 25, Champaign is home to the University of Illinois and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), where the NCSA's Marc Andreesen and Eric Bina created Mosaic, considered to be the first popular graphical browser for the World Wide Web.

Wolfram Alpha published a blog post today outlining the two companies they are working with to bring their new service to market. R Systems Inc. has built the 44th fastest supercomputer (per the June 2008 TOP500 list) known as the R-Smarr powered by a Dell Data Center Solutions (DCS) server solution. Dell DCS also provided another supercomputer based on quad-board, dual-processor, quad-core Harpertown servers for their data center.

There are many more details on Wolfram Alpha to come soon.

Over the last few weeks. we’ve been adding more features and options to the Inspiron Mini 10, which will allow folks to personalize the popular companion device even more like a 720p HD edge-to-edge display, a bigger battery option and five Design Studio choices from Tristan Eaton.  For customers in the United States and Canada, today we’ve added Ubuntu as an OS option (starting price of $399) with additional hard drive options..

We’ve been tweaking the Dell-designed user interface on the Linux version of the Mini 10. For those of you who have never seen our unique UI, the best way to explain it is that it is activity-based. Our goal all along with our Ubuntu interface is to take the application out of the equation. Instead we are paving the way for people to interact with the Mini based on what they want to do – e.g. I want to browse the Internet, I want to look at pictures, I want to chat with my family, I want to play a game of Solitaire, etc. We’ve taken feedback from customers of the Mini 9 and Mini 12 and made some updates to the UI on the Mini 10, to make it more visually appealing. 

For a more visual explanation, here's a vlog from Doug Anson, Dell's Linux technology strategist:

The Linux version of the Mini 10 also gets some additional hard drive options, 32GB ($75) and 64GB ($125) solid state disc (SSD) drives. The Windows XP Mini 10 won’t get these hard drive options for now due to some original restrictions around what level of hardware can be offered on netbook-type devices – these guidelines are adjusting as the category grows.   

For the social media mavens and students who are on the go all day, the best news is we’ve added a 6-cell battery option ($30) for the Mini 10 that provides around eight hours of battery life (based on MobileMark 2007 and Linux BLTK (Battery Life Toolkit) v1.08) - mileage may vary based on configuration, settings, activities etc. We’ve also added a bigger 3-cell option (28WHr)($15) that gets about 25 percent longer battery life (just under four hours) than the base 24WHr battery. Obviously for a device like the Mini, battery-life is critical, so that’s why Dell offers two Minis that are capable of getting around eight hours – the Mini 12 also offers a 6-cell extended battery option.

We recently expanded the pallet of external personalization options an individual can choose from  to customize the Mini 10’s exterior. Joining the original six colors (standard Obsidian Black and Alpine White, or optional Cherry Red, Jade Green, Ice Blue, and Promise Pink- $40) are five original images by Tristan Eaton (The Muse in Purple  and Orange and Stickers in Green, Black and Blue- $60). For those of you looking for a Mother’s Day gift (hint, hint), remember a purchase of any of the  Promise Pink Minis generates a $5 contribution to the Susan G Komen For the Cure.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a feature we added a few weeks ago – an HD display ($35). The key benefits of this display are you can view more content on the display at one time – a LOT more content (around 70 percent more). So, even if you plan to just use it for e-mail and web applications, seeing more content is a useful thing. Besides that, the HD screen also delivers richer colors and wider viewing angles (meaning you can share the movie with the person sitting next to you if you want.)

For those of you who have read the fine print on the Design Tab on the Mini 10 product page will know we still have a few rabbits to pull out of our hat, including a 2GB memory option and built-in TV ATSC Tuner. I’ve confirmed they are on the way – and actually the Mini 10 with a built-in DVB-T tuner will be available Europe in the near future.

I’ll close with this. In the near future my colleague Lionel will post a “Dummy’s Guide to the Atom Processor” as there are two versions out there: the Zxxx series (a.k.a. Silverthorne) and Nxxx series (a.k.a. Diamondville). In general, if you are planning on using a netbook device for video playback you should look for a device powered by the Z-series processor family, as it can handle hardware decode of 720p content and with Cyberlink codecs (which we do include on the Mini) can decode most of the more popular video formats. It also, surprisingly enough, contributes to better battery life because of lower power consumption. Both the Mini 10 and the Mini 12 are based on the Z-series Atom processors, and that’s all I’m going to say about that – stay tuned for Lionel’s post with more details.

Later today, Stephen Schuckenbrock, president of Dell’s Large Enterprise group will unveil our Efficient Enterprise Portfolio of products in a webcast that will happen today at 11:30am Central Standard Time.

You can register for the webcast by going to Dell.com/switch or by clicking on the image below.

Many of you have been keeping track of the Mini 10 since we previewed some details at CES. Starting today, we'll begin taking preorders from customers in the United States through QVC. U.S. online availability through Dell.com will follow soon after—it's scheduled for February 26.  We'll begin shippping next month. The regional schedule will vary, but the Mini 10 will be available to Dell customers worldwide in the future.

It comes standard in Obsidian Black, but we offer Alpine White, Promise Pink, Cherry Red, Ice Blue and Jade Green as color options. Mini 10 pricing starts at $399. With the 3-cell battery, its starting weight is 2.86 lbs.

Update (2-26): The Mini 10 is now available for order at Dell.com.

The Mini 10 will be available with two Atom processor options: the Z520 and Z530. Standard features include:

• an integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam
• an HDMI out port
• integrated 802.11g Wi-Fi
• a 3-cell 24Whr battery
• 160GB 5400rpm hard drive
• a 4-in-1 memory card reader

Initially, all Mini 10s will come with 1GB fixed RAM (which means it will not be upgradable), the Windows XP operating system, and a 16:9 edge-to-edge display that supports a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768. The default screen resolution is 1024 x 576, which is a better fit for the widescreen display. As far as ports, the Mini 10 features HDMI out, 3 USB ports, an Ethernet jack, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, AC Power in and 1 line out + 1 Mic-in ports.

Update (3-31): The high resolution screen is now available as an option on the US website. For $35 more, you now can opt for a 1366 x 768 display).

Update (4-30): I tweeted this last week, but forgot to update this post: The 6-cell 56W/Hr battery is now available as a $30 option. Beyond that, we now offer some designs in addition to all the color options I've mentioned elsewhere in this post. 

Update (8-15): Recently we just began offering a promotional Mini 10 configuration for customers in the United States with 2GB of RAM and Windows Vista Home Basic with SP1. For more details, check out my updated post on the 2GB topic here.

All Windows XP machines will ship with Windows Live Essentials and the Windows Live Toolbar. Microsoft Works will also be standard software. Microsoft Office Basic 2007 will be an option in the future.

If you prefer Linux, Ubuntu 8.04 will be an available option soon. The higher resolution 720P panel will be available as an option in the future and the integrated digital TV tuner will be available on a future model. While I'm on the subject of future options, Bluetooth, integrated GPS and mobile broadband, will all be options down the road.

I've been using the entry-level config for Mini 10 for the last few days. My verdict: I'm going to have a hard time giving it back. The keyboard is the first thing I noticed—at 92% the size of a standard keyboard, it's a bit larger than the one on the Mini 9. I adjusted to it in no time. The other thing I noticed was that overall performance on Windows XP seemed really snappy. Just about all my work these days revolves around e-mail and web-based apps, and for those kinds of things, the Mini 10 was great. I installed Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3 and fired up several tabs to mimic what I do everyday. I used two of my favorite Twitter clients, Twhirl and Tweetdeck to have some conversations there. Beyond that, the Mini 10 performed well when I uploaded and viewed videos and  images on YouTube (even HQ and HD-quality ones) and Flickr, checked Techmeme and wrote most of this blog post on both Live Writer and the Community Server back end. Doing these kinds of activities, I was able to get about 3 hours of battery life with the standard 3-cell battery.

I'll update this blog post as new options become available. For a bit more background on the Mini 10 and where netbooks fit in the world of mobile devices, check out this StudioDell video. And if you want to see some photos of the Mini 10, take a look here on Dell's Official Flickr page.