Opinion: An XP Lite would be a smart mobile strategy for Microsoft

Computerworld - I've been working with one of the coolest ultraportable Windows XP machines I have ever used. It's a shame that most people will never be able to experience it. The reason they won't is that, out of the box, the Eee PC isn't a Windows XP machine. It can become one, but it's not an easy task. However, after seeing how great the Eee PC can be after its conversion to XP, I see a big opportunity for Microsoft.

First, though, let me tell you about the Eee PC. It's a fairly limited device from Asustek Computer that retails for only $399 with 512MB of RAM and a lowly 4GB of storage. Out of the box, it has a full Linux environment based on Xandros. That offers a lot of functionality. For example, reverting everything to a working state is a five-minute operation.

But that didn't cut it for me. I want Microsoft Office, PopCap games and a Slingbox client. Thankfully, Asus provides a disk with all the Windows XP drivers you need to get the system running.

I had an XP SP2 install disk, but XP doesn't comfortably fit into the constraints of the Eee PC. Fortunately, a free tool called nLite came to the rescue. NLite lets you custom-install XP with a much smaller footprint.

It's not something for the faint of heart. It took me a lot of trial and error to build a version of XP with an installed footprint of just under 500MB. (The install itself was clean and easy, though.) Next, I installed the Asus drivers and a reduced version of Office 2003, along with a few games. Finally, with a driver for a USB 3G modem and a suite of portable applications, I was all set. And I still had more than half of the 4GB of space on the Eee PC available. What I have is a tiny, easy-to-carry XP machine that weighs a mere 2 lb. and has everything I need when I'm on the road  and nothing more. The machine boots in less than 20 seconds and shuts down in 10 (no need to hibernate or suspend). In short, it's a cheap yet powerful mobile device that has full PC functionality.

So, what's missing? Well, it could never be my primary machine, although it could serve that purpose just fine for a student if you added a cheap monitor and a USB keyboard for use in a dorm. It's not a media powerhouse, although you can watch movies and listen to music off of a USB card or stick. And it's certainly not a hard-core gaming box.