Poe’s law was originally stated as “Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is uttrerly impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone won’t mistake for the genuine article.”

Rossi, you should look at what is happening in Germany right now in the car company negotiation.

Why? What does that have to do EEE PCs?

That is yet another example of the utter bankruptcy of the American system.

No, it’s a one particular case of an industry (autos) that has become decrepit and broken.

The Poe Effect may be in full force here, folks.

I’m sorry, but what is a Poe effect? Is that some cult jargon?

The fake Asus.co.uk page actually has a 0-second redirect to the real ASUS web site. It’s not that ASUS has stepped in and taken care of things. Rather, the fake page is trying to hide itself.

More at http://linuxinexile.blogspot.com/2009/05/better-with-windows.html

1. be unethical and get sued (yet again)
2. be unethical but avoid being sued
3. be ethical

they will go for the second.

It would also provide them with the opportunity of calling OSS advocates “conspiracy theorists”.

Of course, it could have nothing official to do with MS; it could just be the work of a MS fanboy. We’ll probably never know.

Also, it’s not just Asus that does back-room deals with MS. Every other company does too. MS discounts their licenses for manufacturers. If a manufacturer wanted to give their customers a Linux option (which could technically be cheaper than the MS option), MS could just remove or reduce the discounts to the extent that the manufacturers machines would compare unfavourably to their competitors machines. And no manufacturer is going to drop Windows, because that’s what most customers want.

Some manufacturers list Linux alternatives for a handful of their machines, but they are not cheaper than the Windows alternatives, and I believe that they are nothing more than a fig leaf to cover the dodgy deals done with MS.

————
“Teaching children to use Windows is like teaching them to smoke tobaccoâ??in a world where only one company sells tobacco.” – Richard Stallman

Also, I can’t believe I did this, but I mixed up my tabs copying and pasting the “it’s better with windows” bit, so the part about saying the text is mirrored — well, that’s an utter lie. My screw up.

The other part — about the real site having given “Genuine XP Home” such a fluff-job — stands. In fact, there’s an “Asus recommends XP for everyday computing” logo at the top, which if I recall correctly is required contractually if you partake in Microsoft’s heavy OEM discounts for pre-installing software. From everything I’m reading, it would appear that the Linux and XP versions cost the same; indicating to me that despite it being marketed as free to choose, people are obviously going to go for the more familiar of the two. This whole thing reeks of Microsoft realizing this could be Linux’ foot in the everyman’s door, and freaking out. Better to “give away” Windows than allow normal users to both get their hands on Linux, and realize it’s actually pretty good, and lose marketshare as a result.

I’m going to have to install a Firefox extension or something that makes me look over my damned submissions before I hit post. Because I’ve been doing that a lot lately — posting something, then immediately either posting again to fix a problem with the post, or saying “oops, my bad”. I get fired up about something and post without double-checking my facts. Not a good habit for someone trying to be a good blogger/commenter worth reading. Mea culpa.

If that original site is a fake, it is a fake designed to float the idea in a deniable way.

Asus is asses, they is.

(That is how it is pronounced, right? Asses? )

But this page showing the description of the Seashell on the US side of their site, strongly suggests otherwise: http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product1008ha.html

First, it bears no mention of Linux at all. Only “Genuine Windows XP Home”. If you go to the specifications page, it says for OS:

Genuine Windows® XP Home
(*Pre-installed with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 60-day Trial and vary by country)

GNU Linux

Doesn’t tell you that’s a choice — and if you DO understand it’s a choice, it sure does look like you’re getting a better deal with the GENUINE DEAL OS, as opposed to the obviously inferior, or otherwise not genuinely Windows, Linux. This is mirrored on the list of comparisons between this model and other Eee PC’s.

Also, the “It’s Better With Windows” verbiage is mirrored there:

It’s better with Windows®

The Eee PC� 1008HA comes pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows XP Home and Microsoft Works. With Windows® XP, you can be sure that your Eee PC� will be compatible with your existing Windows applications and devices. Windows® XP is also easy to use and delivers a dependable experience that Microsoft and a worldwide community of partners stand behind. Visit http://www.ItsBetterwithWindows.com » to find out more.

So, whether the UK site is a fake or not, eeepc.asus.com certainly isn’t. Its Whois:

Registrant:
Asus Computer International
800 Corporate Way
Fremont, CA 94539
US

Domain Name: ASUS.COM

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Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Yao, Charles charles_yao@asus.com
Asus Computer International
800 Corporate Way
Fremont, CA 94539
US
(510) 608-4527 fax: 999 999 9999

Record expires on 24-Oct-2011.
Record created on 25-Oct-1995.
Database last updated on 29-May-2009 22:49:30 EDT.