Dell has some new laptops, the E4200 and the E4300, that can boot up with either Windows from your dual core Intel chip (x86) or Linux on a ARM chip (the laptop has both of course). The purpose of this is for Windows to run "heavier" applications that require more juice (because it's Windows and sucks life greedily from your CPU so it can super charge itself for running PowerPoint or something) and Linux for a quick start up on your nice little ARM chip to do things like checking your email, which by the way I can do on my phone.
My guess is they're targeting businessmen/women who need to bring a laptop along with them on their frequent travels so they can type up charts on Microsoft Excel, but also need to check their email, which again, I can do on my phone. I'm not saying it's a bad thing though, Linux would be great for people who don't want to wait forever for Windows to boot up. Then once they had to get serious and work on their spread charts some more, they could get back onto Windows and do that.
Something here seems a little suspicious to me, since Linux is running on the ARM chip. The news articles make it sound like Linux can't handle heavier tasks, but I think it would actually be the little ARM that can't handle them, not Linux itself. Those little processors are found in things like calculators, phones, PDAs, and iPods...you get the idea. How long did your last calculator last, and it turned on the second you pushed the button, right? Well...Linux can run on an x86 processor just like Windows, but this new laptop has Linux running off of the ARM chip. I guess this is some energy saving and convenience laptop or something if you want to check your email and then use some Microsoft Office programs.
Unfortunately, how many people are going to know what it means that Linux doesn't get to run off of the x86??? If they underestimate Linux, it isn't Linux's fault, it's the fault of the people who put Linux on the ARM.
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