Michael Gartenberg agrees: XP Lite has merit
I was nodding my head in agreement several times this morning while reading Michael Gartenberg’s most recent Computerworld article. A Jupiter Research analyst, Michael shares his experiences with an Asus Eee PC and comes to the same conclusion many of has have had here: Vista isn’t really geared to work well on ultramobile computers. Michael calls for an “XP Lite” out of Microsoft, a twist on what we’ve longed for in a “Vista Mobile” environment.Using nLite freeware, you can customize your own XP installation, but that’s not something mainstream consumers can, should have to or want to do. When I put XP on my Eee, I opted not to use nLite, but I did remove certain XP components from the installation. That ended up leaving me 1.5 GB of free space on the 4 GB SDD storage. nLite, by comparison, provided Michael with a full 2 GB of storage capacity. In either case, I think the UMPC market is asking for a leaner Windows environment; one that offers full Windows application compatibility, but doesn’t require desktop-horsepower to run well in a portable device.
Microsoft got something like that ( http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sa/benefits/fundamentals.mspx ) but it is not openly available.
If you were to have a lighter version of Windows, how do you decide should be left out/what services should be switched off? Also, a lot of people are already complaining that there are too many versions of Windows but this would potentially unleash a really complicated version. These are obviously tough questions to answer as everyone has a different opinion about what is and isn’t necessary. Maybe MS need to rework the services applet to make it easier for users to turn features that run in the background off – at least when running on battery power.
In the meantime, it looks as if Microsoft are doing a lot of work to ensure that Windows 7 runs well on mobile devices. Aero XP have an interesting article (http://www.aeroxp.org/index.php?categoryid=23&p2_articleid=164) about Windows 7 development that includes a section on mobile devices.
I think the EeePC being sold now with XP on it offers just 700MB of free space. That’s at least what I heard from someone.
I wonder, is there a way of stripping an *installed* version of XP down to that nLite size? Or does it all have to be done *before* installation?
For mobile blogging, I need:
1) BlogDesk
2) WordPad
3) Photo Toolkit
4) Firefox with all my extensions
5) Adobe Reader
I think that list is complete …
I looked at my my Pictures folder and that’s still below 200MB, so I could even carry around photos for blog use in the EeePC itself (no SD needed).
I’d forgotten all about your XP-on-EeePC adventure. Glad you linked to it. It makes me think the 8.9″ 12GB EeePC with XP slapped on it might be better than a 4GB SSD HP Mini.
When I first installed XP on my 8G EeePC I went the nLite route following an online guide. I had very little idea of what would be the implication of removing various elements. I also slimmed down XP further by removing all the KB files and all the “blue $” files. Later I screwed up XP messing around and when I did a repair installation I got into this endless loop of XP trying to install a million updated over and over again. The fix for me was to do a clean install of XP and all the programs I wanted. MS Streets & Trips 2008 is the big one. I now have about 4G left free on the SSD. I also have an 8G SDHC card and I am happy. There is vLite for Vista.
I’m not looking to run huge apps. I should also add that I’d also need the full set of multimedia add-ons: WMV codec, MP4/QT codec, AVI codec, DiVX codec, Flash/Shockwave Players. Oh, and vlc, of course!
I can’t wait to fondle the XPed EeePC at Best Buy (I wish J&R would get it in too!). If it’s true it comes with MS Works, there’s space I can free up right away!
My whole point is messing with nLite isn’t for the faint of heart. And the 2gb free was with an install of office, some games and a few other apps. net size of XP was under 500mb and left 3.5gb free after install. One way to do this is to simply skin XP so it looks more like Vista and call it Vista mobile. Either way, there’s a huge lost opportunity here for MSFT and just adding XP home’s life span isn’t the answer
Michael
It’s not quite what you mean, i.e. it’s a 3rd party customisation but I used this on my Eee:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Themes/VistaMizer.shtml
Gave the desktop the fresh modern look of Vista, also replacing the horrible XP soundscheme with the far nicer Vista one.
XP works very nicely on the Eee and I think it will be terrific on the new 9″ model.
About nLite … I was just wondering, isn’t there some way for someone to develop a script or Wizard that can look at XP already on, say, my desktop HD’s and do the hairy work of copying what’s needed for an nLite EeePC install either onto a folder on the HD or to an SD?
You’ll have to forgive me. From time to time I remember that computers are supposed to do the work and save us time … not us do the work for computers! (I’m bitterly reminded whenever I have to upload an image to the new WordPress 2.5 and have to choose the same frikkin settings each time because there’s no Set It And Forget It option. Grrrr … caution: rabid user!)
Mike, you must pay for a new license, what are you thinking using an existing one?
I agree with Michael’s point after all I’ve written about the need for “Vista Mobile” which is just a lite version of Windows. Low-end PCs (ULCPCS as MS has decided to call them) need a core OS, not all the bells and whistles.
I am curious that everybody is clamoring for a lite version for XP. I would actually prefer a lite version for Vista. If you disable all the new eye candy, vista is the same speed as XP but much more stable.
James: It was, of course, a brief example. Someone could incorporate in the script or Wizard the facility to prevent outright piracy. It could just as well read the XP from a CD (with a different serial number than the desktop PC) and start from there. I’m just mainly expressing my frustration over how, increasingly, I’m finding computers eating time they are supposed to *save*. Call it ollllld age, I guess.
And btw, has anyone run into something a nLited XP would *not* run? I’m not looking to do games. As long as I could expect the small list of programs and codecs I’ve mentioned run fine, that’d suit me.
@sitecharts
Here ya go: http://www.vlite.net/
@Jake
5) Adobe Reader????
Try Foxit Reader. Stop the bloatware.
>>>Try Foxit Reader.
Thanks for the suggestion. Just went to their site and they have some bizarre promo going where they want me to take *everything* for “free” in exchange for taking up an offer from one of a ton of advertisers. I think I’ll wait til they’re offering just the Reader for free.
Is there an article or post somewhere that goes into some detail about which XP components are safe to remove using XPlite? I’d love to free up some space on my new 900 because it appears that Windows is using almost 2gig!