ARM netbooks struggle with video, apps

Cloud services, Adobe Flash hold keys to success

Rick Merritt, EE Times
(04/13/2009 10:19 AM EDT)
 
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Engineers designing a new generation of ARM/Linux-based netbooks are struggling with two issues crucial to the success of the systems--the platform's poor support for Web video and its fragmented software base.

The results of their work will determine whether the $200 systems expected to ship starting this fall establish a significant new class of computers or frustrate users and create a market backlash.

The top problems are twofold: Adobe Flash--the underpinning of most Web video--does not yet run natively the ARM processor, and the half dozen variants of mobile Linux available for ARM do not support any standard for how they run applications.

Neither issue will be completely resolved before the systems begin hitting the market this fall. However, observers say long term both problems can be minimized if not completely resolved.

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