The customized version of Xandros is designed to take into account running it on a solid state drive. If you decide to run the full KDE desktop or another distro, you will want to set up so it does not write to the drive. The reason ASUS chose Linux was to keep the costs down - no license royalty to Microsoft - and it came with everything average users would need to have a good computing experience. ASUS has rewritten all the rules about laptops and I'm surprised no one thought of this approach before. I think Linux can win mainstream acceptance if its pre-installed and users can get started right away without having to configure anything. The eee PC is proof that it can work.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus