A YEAR ago, ASUS told the press that it was "closely tied up with Microsoft.” This happened just months after ASUS had expressed its future commitment to the GNU/Linux platform and recently we learned that Microsoft probably offered kickbacks to ASUS. It is almost confirmed now. The effect on ASUS appears to be devastating as liaising with Microsoft did not really pay off.

ASUS is among the few tier-one hardware vendors that understands Linux. Of the dozens of ASUS products we have tested over the years, it is hard to remember a product from ASUS that did not work well with Linux.

We recently acquired an ASUS Eee PC (if you want to know more about it, a lot of reviews are available on internet). The first thing we did when we put our hands at the ASUS Eee PC was to test its security. The ASUS Eee PC comes with a customized version of Xandros operating system installed, and some other bundled software like Mozilla Firefox, Pidgin, Skype and OpenOffice.org.

For those who have forgotten, the first Asus netbook ran Linux, to be precise – Xandros. It forced Microsoft to bring the XP back from its grave. Now, Asus does not sells any Linux powered netbooks. But, is that really correct?

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA is a thin and light netbook that weighs just 2.4 pounds and measures just an inch thick. And it’s currently only available with Windows XP. But this weekend Asus did something interesting.

It wasn't even three-years ago that Asus took the concept of a cheap, small notebook and turned it into a revolution: the Linux-powered netbook. But, now, without any fanfare, Asus seems to have closed down its Linux lines at least in the United States.

ASUS has effectively abandoned Linux and stated a power user would use Windows instead. This backflip stands against the history of their successful Eee netbook line. Nevertheless, ASUS’ loss will be the gain of more savvy players.

The EeePC started as a niche product aimed at children. It was a huge hit, which surprised everybody - even Asus. Microsoft noticed it, and started putting pressure on Asus. While reading around, I came across this interview with Benson Lin, which proces once more that Microsoft is tying up Asus and effectively killing the GNU/Linux version of the EeePC.

Asus joins the fun with a cheap laptop using a Xandros based OS.