Posted on 11/21/2009 2:32:10 PM PST by smokingfrog
A few years ago rivals mocked Jonney Shih, chairman of Asustek, and his purse-size laptop computers. Millions of netbooks later, Shih is having the last laugh.
On a hillside above the Hsing Tian Kong temple in the northern reaches of Taipei, Jonney Shih sits on a wobbly stool next to an ornate low wooden table. Dressed in a taupe suit, white shirt, and silver tie emblazoned with jaguars, Shih, 57, cheerfully waves off three umbrella-wielding employees who try in vain to shield their boss from the hot sun and a swirl of menacing bees.
But Shih, who is waiting to be photographed for this magazine, sits serenely, perspiration-free in the sun, intent on a game of Chinese chess. "In Buddhism you learn to accept everything, to let it flow through you," Shih says. "Then you can slow down and think clearly."
It turns out the ferociously driven Shih is a less-than-model Buddhist. (Buddhists aren't supposed to be thinking about technology while they're meditating — something Shih is known to do.) But his ambition, combined with engineering skills and spot-on business instincts, also makes him the most brilliant technology executive you've never heard of.
He is the largest shareholder and chairman of Asustek (pronounced a-soos-tech), the $21-billion-a-year tech conglomerate that introduced the first netbook three years ago, ushering in a revolution in the stagnant PC industry. When it hit stores in the fall of 2007, Shih's $399 EeePC was derided by rivals as a low-power plaything. But Asustek, or Asus for short, went on to sell millions of the mini-notebooks and soon vaulted to No. 5 in worldwide PC market share.
Today virtually every PC manufacturer on the planet, including Dell (DELL), Hewlett- Packard (HPQ), and Toshiba, offers its own version of netbook. (The exception is Apple (AAPL).)
(Excerpt) Read more at brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com ...
Brilliant idea; only 8 month of monopoly before losing 70% market share! Wow do companies move fast!
The only things missing are an elderly David Niven and Woody Allen.
I have really mixed feelings about netbooks. Their real utility has always seemed rather limited to me, and I would think the tiny keyboard would drive good touch-typers nuts. On the other hand, I can’t deny their “cool gadget” appeal.
Yup. However, they are good for surfing the "net". Hence the name. Mine does doubleduty as a GPS using Delorme terrain mapping software.
Lightweight, concealable, SSD drive and either wireless or wired, they're great, but I wouldn't want mine to take the place of my desktop.
It's probably more robust than most of its kin: It has 2 GB RAM memory, a 160 GB HD, bigger screen, etc. Still, it cost me less than $500.
First thing I did was install Windows 7, the beta, in place of the pre-installed Vista. Much faster, leaner operating system for any computer.
It runs my serious hard-core photo editing software like Lightroom 2.0, CS3, raster printing utilities and all that stuff fine. It is bigger than a paperback, but smaller than a magazine. I absolutely love it. The battery lasts for hours and hours.
The one thing I need with any laptop/netbook though is a real mouse.
No sketchy little pointer pads will do the trick when trying to edit photos.
I use this thing in a remote wilderness environment where we connect to satellite internet via a generator. It is small enough that I can stick it into my pants, under the belt, at the small of my back and it disappears.
Then I sit down on a rock, connect to our WiFi and talk to my kids on Googletalk or Skype a thousand miles away. It has a built-in webcam so I can show them my bug bites.
Technology is great.
Ping
I have an Acer that is slightly larger (11.6") than most netbooks. Its keyboard is standard size and is actually one of the best I've used.
Don’t forget Orson Welles.
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