Asus Eee PC

[Klainmeister]

I'll throw in my .02 once again on this thread. I've used the Eee Laptop quite a bit over the month of two. One of my buddies bought one. It is fast and does everything you'd need for a small ultra-portable laptop. If you are looking for interweb surfing and email, then yeah, it'll work fine. It is compatible with nearly everything if you know how to dl the proper packages and so forth.

The screen is a bit small, but hell, i love the little thing because it does exactly what it should, basic computing and communication. This is coming from someone who loves the utility purposes of a computer over aesthetics and all that other jazz. Example, i try to find the simplest cell phone possible, i hate all the fancy stuff.

So from my experience do i recommend it? Yes, i love linux and love how small and simple the device is. It's cheap too, i might be getting one fairly soon also.

Anyways, just my take on things.

 

[z987k]

My bad.

I was thinking that Xandros (referenced as the distribution used on the Eeee in some articles) was a compact distribution. It's just another RedHat flavor.

But you mention 7.10 - did your roommate's machine come with Ubuntu?

Either way, Linux isn't the bloated monster of an OS that Windows is.

Just talked to the roommate, he said it did come with Xandros, but he put ubuntu on it. Sorry, I just figured it came like that since all I knew at the time was it came with a linux distro.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Ok, the horse is dead and beat for the most part...but if you want one of these...

The price is $389 for the 4GB non-Surf version at www.zipzoomfly.com.

If you're willing to accept non-upgradeable memory and no webcam, you can get the 4GB Surf version for $329 at the same site.

EDIT:
If you don't mind voiding the warranty, you can upgrade the Surf model's memory:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9048848@N05/sets/72157603434112782/detail/

Makes that $329 pricetag pretty attractive, eh?

 

[Yanos]

I've always liked these guy's reviews: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4055

Not that I have been interested in a EEE...

 

[NitrouStang96]

I was thinking about picking one up to replace our home computer...

This is what I was replying to. Forgive me for only skimming the replies and trying to help with the original question, Yuri.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

This is what I was replying to. Forgive me for only skimming the replies and trying to help with the original question, Yuri.

I was a little harsh. No worries.

 

[NitrouStang96]

Still I have to wonder how well a guy who says this

30GB of memory and 512mb processor

will get along with linux... I doubt he's ever even heard of linux.

 

[brauhaus]

Still I have to wonder how well a guy who says thiswill get along with linux... I doubt he's ever even heard of linux.

well excuse me for not being computer savy... and i do know what linux is, i'm not a complete moot.... thanks for jumping to conclusions. i wonder what other vast assumptions we will make about me...

i don't use this sony everyday and in fact, this is the first time i've managed to actually sit down with it and use it.... so sorry if i don't have the specs memorized, i'll be sure to note that and keep on me at all times.

here are the specs:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name RAPSCALLION
System Manufacturer Sony Corporation
System Model PCG-R505EL(UC)
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 11 Stepping 1 GenuineIntel ~1126 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies LTD R0216C1, 4/12/2002
SMBIOS Version 2.31
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 256.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 86.72 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 624.87 MB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

anyway, i'm not going to explain anything further, i hate asking computer questions b/c there is always that one person who has to flex their computer knowledge and why they are the best and honestly all I'm doing is buying a neat little computer to use on the road and while traveling across this wonderful nation of ours...

we're keeping the sony and just going to let it sit here and use it when we need to... for some reason having 3 laptops is going to seem retarded, but hey, i guess i am, or at least what people assume i am.

sorry for being downright pissy but i'm in no mood.

 

[NitrouStang96]

Damn dude, sorry. I wasn't making fun of you - I've never even used linux.

 

[Kevin Dean]

Having read BraeHaus's posts, I actually think that the Eee PC might work well.

I have to wonder how well a guy who says this will get along with linux... I doubt he's ever even heard of linux.

I won't berate you for the directing at someone asking for help, but I will rebutt the implication that you have to know "a lot" about computers to run GNU/Linux. I AM a GNU/Linux elitest in the finest of the Debian traditions.

Computers are like cars, an analogy I'm sure you'll grasp. Most people don't give two craps about their car until they stick the key in and it doesn't start. Other people enjoy the process of dissecting every part, touching it themselves and tuning to get the last ounce of performance. There's a bond between "man and machine" once you've "done it yourself" - a bond a lot of people simply don't grasp.

And yet, millions of people drive.

Tivo runs GNU/Linux. Most routers run GNU/Linux, some DVD players... It's all about packaging. There are some "hard core" distros for hackers to tweak to their hearts content and then you get "simple" distros designed to "Just Work". Ubuntu is actually somewhere in the middle which would probably all BraeHaus ever needs. The Xandros on that PC is certainly one of the "simpler" distros there is and it designed for office users, not gamers and not hackers.

[...] Xandros [...] It's just another RedHat flavor.

Not to be picky here but Xandros is Debian based. They lock their systems down so tightly that it doesn't really matter much anyway though. Xandros also got bullied into the "patent" deal with Microsoft only in a more crucial way than Novell.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Not to be picky here but Xandros is Debian based.

My bad. I just finished reading an article on CentOS and had RedHat on the brain.

 

[brauhaus]

Damn dude, sorry. I wasn't making fun of you - I've never even used linux.

it's okay, i was a little harsh... i've been on-call these last few days, ran a few calls in the middle of the night to come home to the 1yo awake, so i've been letting the SWMBO sleep since she is prego and getting little to no sleep lately.

i've been debating whether or not to just put Linux on the sony, I do like tinkering with computers, altho I may not know all the jargon I will admit I do know a thing or too.... enough to get me in some trouble

I'll be working from home today, so once i'm off a few confrence calls i'm going to dig around to see if I want to install Linux on the sony or not.... and since it's just a few feet from me I'm very tempted to do so.... just gotta make sure I know what I'm getting into before I do it.

 

[NitrouStang96]

I'm sure Yuri or Kevin will be able to tell you if you'll have any compatibility issues - hopefully you can get open office or an equivalent on the linux for your word processing. Beyond that, a web browser is a web browser, so no compatibility issues there, so if you like the size and battery life of the thing, I'd pull the trigger. I hadn't previously seen that it's using a SSD - It'll be sweet to see the OS boot faster than a new 3GHz quad core

Plus, something of that size would be the most perfect portable movie player as long as you had a little extra drive space or an external dvd player.

OH! Also, if you're into this sort of thing... you can get a USB GPS receiver for $25-60 and have a nice 7" GPS unit.


PS:
IM IN NO MOOD.

 

[zbeeblebrox]

for all of this linux windows talk i think i should mention the the asus Eee pc comes with xp drivers on the included software disk in case you want to install xp on the thing. and since there are a few ways to do a bare bones install of xp it wouldn't take up all the on board space.

 

[z987k]

it's okay, i was a little harsh... i've been on-call these last few days, ran a few calls in the middle of the night to come home to the 1yo awake, so i've been letting the SWMBO sleep since she is prego and getting little to no sleep lately.

i've been debating whether or not to just put Linux on the sony, I do like tinkering with computers, altho I may not know all the jargon I will admit I do know a thing or too.... enough to get me in some trouble

I'll be working from home today, so once i'm off a few confrence calls i'm going to dig around to see if I want to install Linux on the sony or not.... and since it's just a few feet from me I'm very tempted to do so.... just gotta make sure I know what I'm getting into before I do it.

If you do decide to try it out, just download a LiveCD. That way nothing on the computer is touched and you can test drive the OS so to speak. It'll be a little sluggish since it's loading everything off the CD but you'll get the feel.

 

[brauhaus]

If you do decide to try it out, just download a LiveCD. That way nothing on the computer is touched and you can test drive the OS so to speak. It'll be a little sluggish since it's loading everything off the CD but you'll get the feel.

it's funny you suggested this, I actually took the time and downloaded a few versions of linux to try to whole LiveCD thing.... i've been messing around with it, but I can't get the damn internet to work...

i'd keep messing around with it, but SWMBO is giving me dirty looks

 

[SwAMi75]

OK, reading back through all of this.....I didn't realize the thing had a solid state HDD. That's badass. I can't wait until they make them with enough storage to handle my MS bloatware.

I guess maybe the thing will perform for the average user out of the box....my experience with Linux is very limited, and was a number of years ago. It was not a good experience, but I suppose is has to be more user friendly now. This is making me want to try one out.